A Successful First Tour
It wasn’t that long ago that Midcentury Modern architecture was ignored by professionals and the public alike. Though we still have to fight to preserve some resources, the style is now beloved and there are serious restoration efforts of buildings from the 1950s and 1960s underway throughout the US. In Orange County, we recently celebrated the work of builder Joseph Eichler who developed three housing tracts in the city of Orange between 1960 and 1964. The "Orange Eichlers” stood out in the Orange County of the time with their post-and-beam construction, atriums, and unusual roof lines. In May, the public was invited into seven of these homes during Preserve Orange County’s Eichler Home Tour.
The results of the tour and companion event, Eichler Romanza, exceeded Preserve Orange County’s wildest projections: 1000 tickets sold and $70,000 raised from sponsors and ticket sales for our mission of cultivating awareness and advocacy in OC. Some challenges occurred like rain and misplaced tour booklets but these failed to deter the amiable volunteers, gracious visitors, and forbearing homeowners. The houses made it all worthwhile!
The seven homes on the tour and the two separate event homes were opened to the public in a generous endorsement by their owners of Preserve Orange County’s mission. Visitors were treated to a unique interpretation of Eichler living in each of the houses.
The tour generated a lot of media attention- from the LA Times, the Orange County Register, Architectural Digest online, Westways Magazine, CA Modern, and KPCC’s Take Two, as well as several local newspapers and online news sources.
Several organizations such as the Orange County Historical Society and the Laguna Friends of Architecture enlisted their members to volunteer as docents. Over 150 volunteers dedicated their time and energy. Our seven Lead Docents did an amazing job recruiting and training their volunteers. In a survey conducted following the tour, visitors reported a well-organized and informative experience inside the homes.
Local and regional businesses provided valuable in-kind and financial support. (Go to our sponsorship page for more information.) Leading the pack was Kelly Laule and her real estate firms, Better Living Socal and Eichler Socal. Kelly has been a passionate supporter of the Orange Eichler tracts for many years. She’s leading the effort to nominate them to the National Register of Historic Places, and she was an enthusiastic booster of the Eichler Home Tour from the beginning. Kelly selected the tour homes, and she generously planned and supported Eichler Romanza, our evening reception.
Playa Photo owner, Valerie Smith, drove from her home office in West LA to Orange on two separate weekends to photograph the tour houses. House sponsors included preservation consulting firms Historic Resources Group, and Page & Turnbull (who also made their Eichler buttons available to visitors); Crosby Doe Associates, a real estate firm specializing in historic properties; and, James Wood Cabinetry, a master carpenter. Our Event sponsors were Rellion, a building restoration contractor; and SoCal Modern Group, real estate agents specializing in Modern properties. Historic Conservation and Janus Consulting, both with practices in Orange County, made it possible for us to furnish each homeowner with a gift from Modernica. Thanks to Al Ricci we had a very pleasant- also Midcentury Modern- backdrop for our tour headquarters, at his Fairbairn Professional Building on E. Chapman.
The home tour’s companion event was Eichler Romanza, an evening reception, al fresco dinner, and panel discussion at an Eichler home that attracted 125 guests. Food, wine and beer were generously donated by Wil Dee, owner of Provisions, Chapman Crafted Beer, and Haven, all businesses you can patronize in the historic district of Old Towne Orange.
