Introduced in 1965, the Castillos Series was Sunset Homes' most ambitious collection of homes in Granada Village (Sunset West), Livermore. Drawing on the Spanish word for castle, the Castillos Series combined dramatic architecture, premium features, and imaginative marketing to redefine what suburban buyers could expect from a tract home.
The Castillos Series marked Sunset Homes' fourth major collection in Granada Village, where the builder had been developing homes since 1958. Rather than offering variations on a few floor plans, Sunset introduced a family of distinctive models that emphasized architecture and lifestyle as much as practicality.
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| July 1965 Oakland Tribune ad introducing Sunset Homes’ Castillos Series. Although the image continued Granada Village’s earlier promise of country living, the message looked toward the future: five new models imagined as “1972 homes” for buyers seeking tomorrow’s features today. |
Selling the dream
Sunset’s founder, Masud Mehran, brought in home designer Kenneth Gooch to create a collection that pushed beyond the standard suburban floor plan. The Castillos Series introduced a level of architectural experimentation unusual for a tract builder, with terrazzo flooring, Sonoma stonework, mirrored closets, soaring fireplaces, atriums, and curved walls among its many distinctive features.
Although Sunset did not formally brand the collection as a series, each model carried the name “Castillo”—Spanish for “castle.” The naming reinforced the idea that these homes represented something more elevated than the typical suburban tract house, combining familiar residential living with a sense of individuality and distinction.
The Castillos Series also captured a broader shift in postwar home marketing. Earlier advertisements often emphasized the practical benefits of suburban life: more space, quieter surroundings, and a connection to nature. By the mid-1960s, builders increasingly highlighted the design and lifestyle possibilities within the home itself. Model homes became carefully staged environments, showcasing indoor-outdoor living, entertaining spaces, architectural drama, and specialized features that reflected changing expectations of suburban living.
Even everyday conveniences became part of the sales story. The Castillo de Oro featured Livermore’s first self-cleaning oven, while the Castillo Primavera introduced a built-in indoor barbecue and optional three-car garage—available for just $200 more. Features that once might have been considered upgrades became symbols of a new era of suburban design.
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| 1967 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—the Castillo de Oro’s sun deck became a stage for the idealized suburban lifestyle, elevating the homeowner above the neighborhood and presenting the home as a private retreat. |
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| 1965 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—the Castillo de la Concha’s private courtyard blurred the line between indoors and out, presenting outdoor living as a defining part of the modern suburban home. |
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| 1966 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—the Castillo Acapulco model used a dramatic two-story living space, turning the fireplace into the centerpiece of a more sophisticated vision of suburban living. |
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| 1967 Oakland Tribune ad—the Castillo Primavera turned the family room into an entertainment space, with a built-in barbecue, Sunset’s Gold Patio Kitchen, and an optional three-car garage reflecting the era’s expanding vision of suburban luxury. |
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| June 1966 Daily Review ad—the tri-level Castillo Marques showed Sunset pushing beyond the traditional ranch home, with soaring ceilings, a 25-foot living room, Arizona flagstone fireplace, and even a “beauty center for milady” as part of its vision of luxury suburban living. |
The sales pavilion as an experience
Sunset extended the Castillos experience beyond the model homes themselves with a dedicated sales pavilion at 797 Catalina Drive. Rather than a temporary sales office, the pavilion was designed as a showroom, with a lounge area where visitors could relax and displays showcasing construction materials and home features. The building reflected Sunset’s growing emphasis on design, presentation, and the overall homebuying experience.
The pavilion was offered for sale in 1968 as the Castillos Series came to an end, but no buyer emerged. It was eventually demolished, leaving the model homes as the remaining physical connection to Sunset’s ambitious mid-century showcase.
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| 1968 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—not of this neighborhood: Sunset’s Castillos sales pavilion arrived early—and boldly—in 1960s Livermore, offering buyers a design showroom experience instead of a simple sales office. |
Legacy of the Castillos Series
The Castillos Series model complex closed in early 1968. Sunset Homes then turned its attention to the next phase of development in Livermore: Sunset East, where a new generation of models would continue the company’s emphasis on design and innovation.
More than 50 years later, the Castillos remain some of Livermore’s most recognizable mid-century homes. Their distinctive architecture, unusual features, and careful attention to detail preserve a moment when tract builders were experimenting with new ideas about suburban living. What began as Sunset’s boldest model collection of the 1960s became a lasting reminder of the era when a production home could still be a showcase for architectural ambition.
The original Castillos models and sales materials
When Sunset Homes introduced the Castillos Series in 1965, prospective buyers encountered the community through its model homes. The models showcased the different designs, floor plans, and lifestyles the builder was offering to buyers in Livermore.
The original model homes provide a way to revisit that introduction. The guide below shows where Sunset Homes' models were located, preserves the original sales material where available, and explores the designs the builder offered to prospective buyers when the community was new.
Original model home complex
The model complex opened in June 1965 on Catalina Drive at Niagara Drive with five homes; four more joined over the next two years.
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| Annotated aerial map of the original Sunset Homes Castillos Series model home complex on Catalina Drive. Base imagery from Google Maps. |
Original advertised prices
- 1965: $17,995 - $24,600
- 1966: $19,950 - $28,650
- 1967: $19,950 - $28,950
- 1968: $21,700 - $30,750
Original model home designs
1. The Castillo del Monico - This model offered approximately 1,250 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Model obstructed, instead another Castillo del Monico on Catalina Drive via Google Street View. |
2. The Castillo Antigua - This model offered approximately 1,516 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Castillo Antiqua model today (with second-story addition) via Google Street View. |
3. The Castillo Fontenette - This model offered approximately 1,628 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Castillo Fontenette model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Castillo La Concha - This model offered approximately 1,679 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Castillo La Concha model today via Google Street View. |
5. The Castillo de Oro - This model offered approximately 1,900 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
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| Original Castillo de Oro model today via Google Street View. |
6. The Castillo Marques - This model offered approximately 1,786 to 1,999 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Added in May 1966, this tri-level home helped Sunset break sales records. The 4-bedroom version has 2 windows on the second story front.
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| Original Castillo Marques model today via Google Street View. |
7. The Castillo Acapulco - This model offered approximately 2,189 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Added in October 1966.
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| Original Castillo Acapulco model today via Google Street View. |
8. The Castillo Primavera - This model offered approximately 1,513 to 1,650 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Added in May 1967.
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| Original Castillo Primavera model today via Google Street View. |
9. The Castillo Shangri-La - This model offered approximately 1,680 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Added in April 1967.
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| Original Castillo Shangri-La model today via Google Street View. |
Continue exploring
- 300 Series homes in Granada Village (Livermore, 1964)
- 600 Series homes in Sunset East (Livermore, 1968)
- Granada Village — Livermore's first master-planned suburban community
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