Arts & Crafts  / California Ranch

Variants

Evolution of the Ranch

HACIENDAS or ranchos dotted the countryside of southern California by the mid-19th century. These low-slung vernacular buildings followed the land’s contours and, at the rear, enclosed a courtyard surrounded by a corridor, or open-air hall.

THE MODERN RANCH was the result of a conscious attempt by architects in the Southwest to crate a contemporary family house based on early regional forms, which were essentially Spanish.

SURBURBAN ranch houses, for the most part, retained recognizable characteristics of the style: ground-hugging, one storey and one room deep, integrated with nature—and always with a patio.

THE TRACT RANCH was a post-war versions of the style Many millions of these mall houses were built in developments nationwide during the building booms of the 1950s and 1960s. Some of them are legitimate Ranches, Western in feelings. Others are very plain houses or Colonialized versions. They are being rediscovered now, as many are in desirable suburbs. Some will be remodeled and enlarged; others will be treated to mid-century Modern decorating.