Overview

The Second San Francisco Bay Tradition of architecture sought to unify interior and exterior living spaces to a new extent. A contemporary magazine indicated how architect Gardner A. Dailey had succeeded at the Good Housekeeping Model House in Woodside, CA, to unite indoors and outdoors seamlessly: "Gardner A. Dailey, the architect, has successfully made this house a direct translation of the needs of modern country in-and-outdoor life." (See "Contemporary Style Seen in Woodside Hills Model Home," Architect and Engineer, vol. 138, no. 3, 09/1939, p. 47.)

Building History

Good Housekeeping magazine commissioned the San Francisco architect Gardner A. Dailey (1895-1967) to design a model residence in Woodside, CA, in conjunction with the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. In total, 30 model residences were built around the Bay Area in 1939 to attract visitors to the fair. Dailey worked in collaboration with the landscape architect Thomas Dolliver Church and the general contractor Suburban Builders, Incorporated. David Bohannon, the developer of the tract in which the house was situated, Woodside Hills, was also involved.

The magazine Architect and Engineer described how novel sliding window panels used in the Woodside model house provided a unified sense of space, room to room and interior to exterior: "A sense of openness and freedom between the interior and the surrounding countryside is expressed in the plan through the clever use of sliding panels in every room. These panels slide on tracks for minimum interference with the drapes. They are low enough to the the floor to permit of a sweeping view of the surrounding country. And incidentally the sliding windows do not protrude and monopolize terrace space. Little or no sense of separation is to be felt between rooms which seem to 'flow' into one another. This 'space sense' symbolizes the liberty of movement which our modern country life demands."

The article also generally described the Good Housekeeping House: "The house has twelve rooms--all on one level--with garden room connected by a covered patio. Adjacent to the garden room--wind-protected by it, and by the main wind of the house--is an 18 by 40 foot swimming pool. Underwater lighting has been provided for night swimming. Heat absorbing window glass, an automatic telephone exchange serving fourteen telephones, fluorescent daylight tube lighting, air conditioning and an aluminum coated built-up roof are just a few of the many interesting details of the home. The grounds, nearly two acres, are marked by a pair of large oak trees, between which the house was constructed. These oaks were made centers of life in the garden. One shelters the main garden terrace, directly above the covered walk connecting the house with the garden room. The other has at its base a natural garden terrace done in redwood cobbles, surrounded by shade-loving plants such as azaleas, begonias and ferns. The lines of the garden have been kept simple and sweeping in character to blend with the rolling hills." (See "Contemporary Style Seen in Woodside Hills Model Home," Architect and Engineer, vol. 138, no. 3, 09/1939, p. 47.)

PCAD id: 25405