Published June 12, 2025
Built in 1962 and 1963, Brighton Circle was one of several Volk-McLain Communities housing tracts built within the larger San Ramon Village development in what is now Dublin, California. Opened for sales in June 1962, the 527-home development followed Volk-McLain's first San Ramon Village housing tract and was followed in 1963 by Glenoaks.
The names can be confusing today because Brighton Circle, San Ramon Village, and Glenoaks were marketed as distinct housing tracts, yet they were closely connected in both planning and design. Volk-McLain carried the same five basic Raymond Dean Conwell, AIA-designed floor plans through all three developments, adapting exterior details, prices, and marketing as construction progressed from 1960 into 1963. Today, the areas are generally understood as part of the larger San Ramon Village neighborhood, while the individual names survive mostly in property records, historical advertisements, and the memories of some longtime residents.
A new name for a familiar formula
When Volk-McLain opened the Brighton Circle model complex in June 1962, the company was not starting from scratch. Brighton Circle extended a homebuilding program already underway in San Ramon Village, with the same basic floor plans continuing into a new phase of construction.
The five core house designs had been developed by architect Raymond Dean Conwell, AIA, and were carried forward from the earlier San Ramon Village homes. The houses could look different from one another—and advertisements emphasized new elevations, finishes, and features—but the underlying plans remained remarkably consistent.
That continuity is easier to see today than it was in the newspaper advertisements. Homes built in the San Ramon Village, Brighton Circle, and Glenoaks areas share the same basic dimensions and floor plans, even as the developments were given different names and marketed at different times. What appears in the historical record as a series of separate housing tracts was, in physical terms, a remarkably continuous building program.
Brighton Circle homes and architectural style
When Volk-McLain introduced Brighton Circle in 1962, prospective buyers encountered the housing tract through its model homes. The models showcased the different designs, floor plans, and lifestyles the builder was offering to buyers in Dublin.
The Brighton Circle models
The original model homes provide a useful cross-section of Brighton Circle's architecture. Volk-McLain initially selected eight models for the 1962 opening on Sutton Lane. Although buyers could choose among different elevations and options, these models document the versions Volk-McLain chose to put on display.
Although Volk-McLain relied on five underlying floor plans—Plans D, E, J, L, and M—the builder used alternate exterior elevations to create the appearance of greater variety.
The Danville (Plan J-1)
A “Ranch” elevation of the Plan J with approximately 1,338 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Danville model today (remodeled) via Google Street View. |
The Plantation (Plan L-7)
A “Colonial” elevation of the Plan L with approximately 1,475 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plantation model today (remodeled) via Google Street View. |
The Monterey (Plan M-1)
A “Ranch” elevation of the Plan M with approximately 1,424 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The design incorporated a number of Rustic Ranch elements, including scalloped bargeboards and birdhouse adornment over the garage.
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| Original Nantucket model today (birdhouse adornment removed) via Google Street View. |
The Santa Barbara (Plan D)
A “Ranch” elevation of the Plan D with approximately 1,000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Later renamed The New Haven. Unlike the San Ramon Village tract, this was the only elevation available for the Plan D.
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| Original Santa Barbara model today via Google Street View. Note original garage door. |
The Colonial (Plan J-3)
This model offered approximately 1,345 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The Colonial shared its floor plan with the Danville.
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| Original Colonial model today via Google Street View. |
The Louisiana (Plan E-7)
A “Colonial” elevation of the Plan E with approximately 1,100 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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The Nantucket (Plan M-4)
A “Ranch” elevation of the Plan M with approximately 1,424 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Like its alternative Ranch elevation, the Monterey, this home’s exterior exhibited many Rustic Ranch elements.
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| Original Monterey model today via Google Street View. |
The Providence (Plan E-8)
This model offered approximately 1,116 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The Providence shared its floor plan with the Louisiana.
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| Original Providence model today via Google Street View. |
Marketing Brighton Circle
Volk-McLain envisioned Brighton Circle as more than simply tract housing. The development was designed as a complete suburban environment centered around family life.
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| Daily Review, July 1, 1962—Brighton Circle's grand opening featured eight new model homes and advertised homeownership for as little as $295 down. |
The tract incorporated two elementary schools intended to double as open recreational space for residents. The concept reflected a practical, community-focused approach to suburban planning common during the postwar boom years.
Architect Raymond Dean Conwell, AIA, helped give the neighborhood visual variety through multiple exterior treatments and subtle design changes. Homes featured:
- Colonial-inspired styling
- Cape Cod influences
- Extended gable roofs
- Decorative shutters
- Large picture windows
- X-brace timber detailing
- Low-pitched rooflines
Buyers responded immediately. More than 50 homes reportedly sold during the tract’s opening week alone.
Although this was a continuation of Volk-McLain’s earlier development, Brighton Circle advertisements emphasized the overall planned area as being a “completely new, modern, and safe community.”
The irony is that the advertisements worked hard to make Brighton Circle look distinctive, while the houses themselves reveal how closely the development remained tied to Volk-McLain's earlier San Ramon Village program.
Original sales materials
The following newspaper advertisement documents the original Brighton Circle homes as they were presented to prospective buyers.
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| 1962 Oakland Tribune newspaper ad for Brighton Circle. Although the exterior designs varied, many of the same Raymond Dean Conwell floor plans were shared across the San Ramon Village, Brighton Circle, and Glenoaks housing tracts. |
Legacy of Brighton Circle
The Brighton Circle model homes were put up for sale in February 1964, closing another chapter in Volk-McLain's early San Ramon Village building program.
The name itself has largely disappeared from everyday use. Today, Brighton Circle is generally understood as part of the larger San Ramon Village neighborhood, and many residents would have little reason to distinguish it from the surrounding areas. Property records may preserve the old housing tract name, but the neighborhood experienced by residents is continuous.
That continuity was built into the homes themselves. The same five basic floor plans appeared across Volk-McLain's San Ramon Village, Brighton Circle, and Glenoaks housing tracts between 1960 and 1963. The names changed. The elevations and details changed. The prices and sales pitches changed. But the underlying houses remained remarkably consistent.
In that sense, Brighton Circle was both a housing tract with its own name and part of something larger: Volk-McLain's evolving vision for San Ramon Village.
Collection
Dublin — the making of a suburban city
Continue exploring
- San Ramon Village: Volk-McLain's 1960 housing tract in Dublin
- Glenoaks: Volk-McLain's 1963 housing tract in Dublin
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