Ranch House

A uniquely American invention, the twentieth-century Ranch House first became an integral part of the building vocabulary of the American housing market after World War II, when America's demand for single-family housing was reaching overwhelmingly high levels. Though by the 1960s popular taste had moved on to embrace other types and styles of house, by the time it did, American architects, builders, and developers had so exhaustively and effectively promoted the Ranch House that it had come to be one of the most dominant architectural forms of the suburban landscape of the nation. From Los Angeles to Houston to Fort Lauderdale, there are entire communities where Ranch is the only architecture. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in the Ranch House, and a new generation of homebuyers is discovering its allure. For them and for the many thousands of homeowners who've long known of the Ranch's charm and architectural integrity comes this ultimate look at the Ranch House. Alan Hess, one of the country's foremost authorities on the twentieth-century American home, carefully traces the nearly 75-year evolution of the Ranch House before leading a tour of more than 25 iconic Ranch House dwellings, each of which demonstrates how the Ranch House continues to cater to the needs of the modern family. Frequently characterized by an L- or U-shape floor plan positioned around an outdoor patio area, the twentieth century Ranch House is a descendant of the humble, utilitarian working-ranch house of nineteenth-century America. The latter's characteristic horizontal form, unpainted board-and-batten facade, broad eaves, and exposed rafter ends, among other features, were appropriated in the early part of the twentieth century by pioneering architects who found in the indigenous architecture of rural America the inspiration for a new kind of house for a changed nation, a nation that was, incidentally, fast becoming seduced by mass media-promoted notions of the American West and its cowboy culture. The alluring rustic architectural features of the nineteenth-century working-ranch house were merged with a then emerging modern open-plan spatial configuration and the very latest in building technologies and modern conveniences for the home. The Ranch House caught on fast as a concept and would itself become a powerful symbol of the Western myth through its eventual endorsement by popular figures of the West such as Ronald Reagan. The Ranch House was warm and inviting, a symbol of relaxed living. For thousands of Americans, it worked beautifully. Today, the author argues, it still does. The Ranch House architecture presented here includes buildings that one would expect to find in a serious study such as this, iconic houses in the Ranch idiom (or in a regional idiom that deeply influenced Ranch or borrowed from it) by Californians Cliff May, William Wurster, Lutah Maria Riggs, and Harwell Harris, and by Texans O'Neil Ford, David R. Williams, and Lucian Hood, Jr. Also present is a range of houses by highly influential builder-developers such as John F. Long, David Bohannon, Kaiser Community Homes, and American Community Builders. With revealing period photographs and nearly 200 photographs taken specially for this book, The Ranch House is a riveting visual journey through the past century of homebuilding in America, a book that is sure to be received as the definitive study of its subject.Hess, Alan is the author of 'Ranch House', published 2004 under ISBN 9780810943469 and ISBN 0810943468.