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How Joseph Eichler Introduced Stylish Housing for the Masses

Between 1949 and 1974, when the developer died, his group built roughly 11,000 homes in California, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reported by Rachael Myrow. Produced and edited by Olivia Allen-Price, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Erika Kelly and Julia McEvoy. Theme music by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Ask us a question at BayCurious.org. Follow Olivia Allen-Price on Twitter @oallenprice.
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Eichler homes makes the most of "indoor/outdoor living." (Rachael Myrow/KQED)

Suburbia: The very word conjures up rows and rows of cookie-cutter houses, laid out on a vast, grim grid of blah. At the time they were built, after World War II, the nation was desperate for new housing. But some of those homes are considered architectural treasures today, especially if they were made by one particular Silicon Valley real estate developer -- Joseph Eichler.

Learn about Joseph Eichler and his tract houses in this week's Bay Curious episode using the player above. Read a text version here.

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