Country Club Park in San Ramon, California was more than just another suburban subdivision—it was the first tract in the new Country Club neighborhood in San Ramon Village (today's south San Ramon). The neighborhood was designed for a lifestyle built around leisure, architecture, and the growing optimism of early 1960s California living.
Developed between 1961 and 1965 by Volk-McLain, Country Club Park introduced 531 thoughtfully designed homes beside the newly opened San Ramon Golf Club. With winding streets, golf course views, preserved walnut trees, and an unusually diverse collection of model homes, the neighborhood became one of the most ambitious early suburban developments in Contra Costa County.
Today, Country Club Park remains one of San Ramon’s most architecturally distinctive mid-century neighborhoods.
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| November 1961 San Francisco Chronicle newspaper ad—the fairway might be green, but the vibe is pure outer space. Mid-century cool meets country club living—like golfing on Mars, if Mars had air conditioning and cocktail hour. |
The vision for Country Club Park
Following the success of earlier, modest tracts in San Ramon Village, developer Volk-McLain sought to create a more upscale and architecturally ambitious community in San Ramon.
Working once again with architect Raymond Dean Conwell, the company introduced homes that emphasized:
- Open floor plans
- Indoor-outdoor living
- Mid-century modern styling
- Large entertaining spaces
- Premium materials and finishes
- Architectural variety across neighborhoods
Homes commonly featured Georgia oak flooring, Philippine mahogany cabinetry, Western knotty pine finishes, spacious kitchens, wood-paneled dens, and expansive family rooms.
The neighborhood was marketed toward an emerging generation of upwardly mobile suburban buyers who wanted more than affordability—they wanted lifestyle.
Selling the subdivision
The opening of the San Ramon Country Club in June 1962 transformed Country Club Park into one of the East Bay’s earliest golf-oriented suburban communities.
Promotional materials emphasized fairway views, golf cart culture, cocktail parties, and relaxed California living. The neighborhood was presented not simply as housing, but as a retreat from urban life.
Residents could move seamlessly between home, golf course, and social gatherings in a setting designed to feel both elegant and casual.
This blend of recreation and suburban planning reflected broader early 1960s trends in California development, where leisure increasingly became part of neighborhood identity.
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| December 1961 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—first to buy, first to dream. Clutching a sales brochure like it’s a winning lottery ticket, she’s already picturing drapes. He’s in a raincoat, but all in. This couple were the very first to buy in the new Country Club Park. |
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| October 1961 Daily Review newspaper clipping—the Carmel, a Colonial-style alternative to the Design 4 plan. Though not shown in the model home complex, its classic charm and spacious 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom layout made it a standout option for homebuyers. |
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| May 1962 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—straight from prime time and into real life—this Colonial charmer has the white picket fence, the picture windows, and just enough room for mischief. All that’s missing is the laugh track. |
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| September 1961 Oakland Tribune newspaper ad—just another Sunday on the links... or the driveway. At Country Club Park, even the golf carts feel like convertibles. For the leisure-minded elite who prefer their commutes under par. |
The walnut orchard expansion of 1963
By 1963, most premium golf course lots had already sold, prompting Volk-McLain to expand Country Club Park into an adjacent walnut orchard.
Rather than removing all traces of the agricultural landscape, many mature walnut trees were preserved and incorporated into the neighborhood layout. This created a noticeably different atmosphere in the later phases of development, with shaded streets and a quieter, more wooded character.
The expansion also introduced several new model homes and floor plans that reflected changing buyer preferences during the mid-1960s. These homes retained the clean lines and open layouts of earlier releases while adding greater size, flexibility, and architectural experimentation.
Though many original walnut trees have since disappeared, their influence still shapes the neighborhood’s street patterns and mature landscaping today.
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| From a March 1964 Oakland Tribune ad—missed the golf course lots? Don’t worry—there’s still room under the trees. The fairway may be full, but now you can plant roots in a former walnut orchard… where the shade is deep and the stories practically write themselves. |
Legacy of Country Club Park
Although Volk-McLain sold its remaining assets in 1965 before fully completing its original vision, Country Club Park remains one of the company’s most successful and enduring developments.
The neighborhood captured a unique moment in California suburban history when architecture, recreation, and master-planned living merged into a single idealized vision of suburban life.
More than sixty years later, Country Club Park still reflects that optimism.
Its homes remain architectural time capsules of the early 1960s—places where golf carts once rolled past freshly planted lawns, cocktail parties filled wood-paneled dens, and suburban California imagined itself as both modern and effortless.
In a rapidly changing San Ramon Valley, Country Club Park remains a quiet but enduring landmark of mid-century suburban design.
Exploring the original Country Club Park today
Although the sales office is long gone and the advertisements have faded, the original Country Club Park model homes remain part of the neighborhood. These homes gave prospective buyers their first glimpse of Volk-McLain's vision for suburban living in 1961.
Today, they provide a tangible connection to Country Club Park's earliest days. The guide below documents the original model home complex, the homes themselves, and how they appear today.
Original prices
- 1961: $20,995 +
- 1962: $20,995 +
- 1963: $21,995 - $27,695
- 1964: $21,995 - $27,695
- 1965: $21,995 - $27,695
Original model home complex
Country Club Park's twelve original model homes were arranged on Metairie Place around a temporary sales complex that welcomed prospective buyers during the neighborhood's grand opening in 1961. While the sales office disappeared long ago, the model homes remain, allowing visitors to trace the neighborhood's beginnings more than fifty years later.
Visitors toured homes via a winding pathway on the backs of homes, overlooking the golf course.
Volk-McLain’s naming conventions added a layer of complexity to the neighborhood’s architecture. Floor plans were identified by letters, while exterior elevations received names such as The Tamarisk, The Kona, or The Hartford. This allowed multiple architectural styles to emerge from the same underlying floor plan, helping the neighborhood avoid visual repetition.
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| Annotated aerial map of the Country Club Park model home complex on Metairie Place. Base imagery from Apple Maps. The home of the south corner of Metairie and Belle Meade is custom and not a Volk-McLain home. |
Original sales materials
The following newspaper advertisements document the original Country Club Park homes as they were presented to prospective buyers. Together they preserve the exterior renderings, floor plans, pricing, and marketing language used during the neighborhood's first years.
The Ranchero
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| February 1962 Oakland Tribune newspaper ad—“You’ll like it,” promised the ad for the new Ranchero model at Country Club Park. With classic ranch lines and a growing waitlist, many did. |
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| March 1962 Daily Review newspaper ad—the floor plan of the Palisades and Ranchero models. |
The Tamarisk
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| February 1962 Oakland Tribune newspaper ad—meet the Tamarisk—Palm Springs swagger dropped into suburbia like a martini at a Tupperware party. Totally out of place, and all the cooler for it. |
The Devonshire
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| April 1963 Daily Review newspaper ad—the Devonshire, an English countryside elevation with 2,300 sq. ft. and a pitched roof that limits bonus room space. Though not shown in the model complex, it offered a charming alternative for homebuyers seeking classic style and character. |
The Californian
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| December 1962 Oakland Tribune newspaper ad—the show-stopping Californian model, requiring a 100-foot-wide lot. |
The Brentwood
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| From a September 1963 Oakland Tribune ad—The Brentwood model, introduced as development expanded into a historic walnut orchard. It featured a leisure room and a covered lanai. |
The original model homes
Each floor plan came in at least two elevations. For example, the Plan R came in two elevations, The Tamarisk and The Kona.
1. The Palisades (1961 version) - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,422 sq. ft. Retired at the end of the 1962 season. An alternative ranch-style elevation called The Ranchero was also offered.
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| Original 1961 Palisades model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Tamarisk (Plan R) - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,550 sq. ft. An alternate tropical modern elevation called The Kona was also offered.
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| Original Tamarisk model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Manchester - 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1,726 sq. ft.
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| Original Manchester model today via Google Street View. |
4. Design 4 (unknown name) - 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1,974 sq. ft. An alternate Colonial elevation called The Carmel was also offered.
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| Original Design 4 model today via Google Street View. |
5. The Hartford (Plan S) - 4 bedroom, 3 bathrooms, 1,790 sq. ft. One of the first two-story tract homes in San Ramon. An alternate contemporary elevation known as The Imperial was also available.
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| Original Hartford model today via Google Street View. |
6. The Georgian - 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2,088 sq. ft. Added in 1962.
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| Original Georgian model today via Google Street View (porch added). |
7. The Westwood (1962 version) - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,582 sq. ft.
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| Original 1962 Westwood model today via Google Street View. |
8. The Woodside (Plan W) - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, up to 2,497 sq. ft. Added in 1962, It featured an unfinished second story that buyers could later expand into additional bedrooms and bathrooms. An English countryside-inspired elevation called The Devonshire was also available, but with 197 less sq. ft. of usable second-story space (2,300 sq. ft.) due to the pitched roof.
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| Original Woodside model today via Google Street View. |
9. The Westwood (1963 version) - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,874 sq. ft. Added in 1963.
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| Original 1963 Westwood model today via Google Street View. |
10. The Brentwood - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,407 sq. ft. Introduced in 1963.
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| Original Brentwood model today via Google Street View. |
11. The Californian (Plan W) - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, up to 2,497 sq. ft. A third elevation of Plan W.
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| Original Californian model today via Google Street View. |
12. The Palisades (1963 version) - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,763 sq. ft.
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| Original 1963 Palisades model today via Google Street View. |
Related stories
- Walnut Hills (San Ramon, 1966)
- Crestview (San Ramon, 1964)
- The last walnut orchard — suburban transformation in San Ramon
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