Rancho Estates, Long Beach, CA

Rancho Estates is the Long Beach tract built around Cliff May's ranch house, some 700 low-slung homes on the city's far east edge that he designed with Chris Choate for developer Ross Cortese in 1953 and 1954. The houses share a clear family look: single-story L-shaped plans, low-pitched gable roofs with wide overhangs, board-and-batten or redwood siding, exposed beam ceilings and walls of glass that open onto a private courtyard or patio. Homes that kept their original details tend to command more attention than heavily remodeled ones. What sets Rancho Estates apart from the postwar tracts nearby is how strongly the architecture holds the place together. The homes turn toward their courtyards, so the streets read as a long, calm run of low rooflines and plantings. The neighborhood has almost no commercial space of its own. Groceries, coffee and errands happen along Spring Street and at Long Beach Towne Center, a short drive away. El Dorado Park is the tract's backyard, right next door, with its golf course, duck pond, trails and the El Dorado Nature Center across the San Gabriel River. The park's bikeway links to the San Gabriel River trail for longer rides. The tradeoff comes with the design itself. These are modest-sized houses on modest lots, and a restoration done right takes time, patience and the right contractor. Owners who get there end up with a courtyard house that still works the way May drew it, with the sliding doors open most of the year.