California Ranch: The Consolidation of a Regional Style
Oct. 18, 2014
Peter Jensen is not a stranger to Friends of San Diego Architecture. You may remember his talks, San Diego: Just a Wild and Crazy Place (1991), and Rubbernecking on a Streetcar Named Desire (1997). This time, Peter returns to talk about The California Ranch: The Consolidation of a Regional Style.
Jensen, as a writer and editor of Sunset Magazine, wrote many articles about California Ranch, a style of architecture first introduced by Clifford May in the 1930s in San Diego that remained a dominant style well into the sixties. Thousands of these “tract homes” were built for their affordability and livability
The ranch house was everything it should be—it had cross-ventilation, the floor was level to the ground, and with its courtyard and the exterior corridor, it was about sunshine and informal living. – Cliff May
The Ranch style held onto a fair share of the custom-home market even in the ‘50s-‘60s while Mid-Century Modern was coming to the fore.
Peter first met Cliff May when he was a young reporter just starting his career with Sunset Magazine. He has a wonderful story to tell about his first meeting with May, a delightful tale you’ll all enjoy.
A widower, Peter has raised two sons in a house in Del Mar that he says, “has been a desperate attempt to convert a two-story mundanity to an indoor/outdoor Ranch paradigm—with limited success.” He has been a travel and home-improvement writer for 41 years and has been an editorand/or contributor for Sunset, This Old House, Coastal Living and San Diego Home/Garden. He also has written many guide books and “coffee table” books. And was a marketing consultant for Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta for many years, two spa/resorts which foster a life of wellness.
Peter is President of the Board of Counselors for Torrey Pines Association as well as a board member of James Hubbell’s Ilan-Lael Foundation. In his leisure time, he enjoys working in his garden, backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, hiking in the desert canyons of Anza Borrego, and canoeing on Canadian lakes and rivers—a busy, rich, fulfilling life with friends, family and grandchildren!
Come early for coffee and bring your friends.