During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the George Alexander Construction Company partnered with several architects to develop a unique approach to tract housing. Although the company worked in and near Palm Springs, California, the houses they built were imitated across the United States.
The Alexander Construction Company gave their homes a variety of roof lines and exterior details, making each home seem unique. But, behind their facades, Alexander Homes shared many similarities.
Common features of Alexander Homes:
- Post-and-beam construction
- Expansive windows
- No moldings or trim around windows and doors
- Breezeway connecting carport to living quarters
- Open floor plans
- Three-quarter high wall partitions
- Fiberglass or iron screens and walls with decorative cutouts
- Idiosyncratic rooflines: Flat, slanted, or butterfly-shaped
- Exposed ceiling beams
- Exteriors finished with two-tone wood, patterned brick, or decorative concrete block
- Donald Wexler
- William Krisel
See More Houses built by the Alexander Construction Company:
- 1961-1962: Experimental steel houses designed by Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison
- 1960: The House of Tomorrow, also known as the Elvis and Priscilla Presley Honeymoon House, designed by Palmer & Krisel
- 1955: Swiss Miss Houses
Related:
During the same time period, California builder Joseph Eichler also pioneered modernist approaches to suburban housing, building thousands of stylish Eichler Homes that were imitated across the USA.
