In the late '60s, Livermore wasn’t just growing—it was elevating itself, quite literally.
Enter Duc & Elliot, seasoned developers who arrived in 1966 with something more exclusive in mind: the Los Altos Heights new-home community. The name said it all—elevated, aspirational, and just a little geographically confused.
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| A 1967 ad for Los Altos Heights in Livermore, featuring a Spanish-contemporary model home and promoting the neighborhood’s elevated setting and upscale appeal. |
Where is Los Altos Heights?
Today, the original Los Altos Heights community can be found near the corner of North Livermore Avenue and Portola Avenue. Familiar streets include Yorkshire Drive, Wimbledon Lane, and Briarwood Drive.
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| Annotated aerial map of the Los Altos Heights community in Livermore, California. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Selling the dream
Duc & Elliot leaned into luxury with big, Neo-Mediterranean homes on 8,500–10,000 sq. ft. lots. One ad featured a model so aspirational it was never actually built. But hey, it looked stunning in ink.
Really, it was the views that stole the show. On trip up there and you saw the valley as you've never seen it before.
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| 1968 ad from the Contra Costa Times featuring the floor plan of the Plan 4 in Los Altos Heights, with a central kitchen layout that was considered ahead of its time. |
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| Los Altos Heights highlighted the use of wood and adobe trim to evoke an early California architectural style—an approach that set the neighborhood apart in a period dominated by more conventional suburban designs. |
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| 1966 ad showcasing a Monterey-style home, promoting the elevated setting and aspirational tone of this North Livermore subdivision. |
The homes of Los Altos Heights (1968)
In a post-recession economy, even a perfect stucco archway couldn’t outrun lending restrictions. Sales stalled.
So in 1968, the pivot came: three smaller, less grand homes were introduced on Briarwood Drive. The prices dropped (starting at $24,500), the square footage shrank, and the ad copy got just a little more practical.
A soft landing? Not quite. By April, the models were closed, the builders packed, and Los Altos Heights—at least as Duc & Elliot envisioned it—was mostly a memory.
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| 1968 ad from the Contra Costa Times previews the next phase of homes at Los Altos Heights, now starting at just $24,500—a surprising drop from the 1966 starting price of $27,500. The ad marked a shift toward more competitively priced models during a changing housing market. |
A hillside of what-ifs
Of the planned 285 homes, a count today reveals only about 35 were built by Duc & Elliot, with a number of custom homes. What followed was a scatterplot of design choices—some bold, some bewildering—all tucked into winding streets with names like Wimbledon and St. George.
By the early '70s, Masud Mehran returned to pick up where Duc & Elliot left off, rebranding the area as The Meadows. The Los Altos Heights name quietly disappeared. But the bones remained.
Legacy of Los Altos Heights
Los Altos Heights today is a subdivision with an identity crisis that somehow works. There are still original models—Mount Rushmores and Whitney types—mixed with custom homes built in the 1970s and beyond. Walk through and you’ll see decades of optimism layered in stucco, shake roofs, and bay windows.
It’s a living archive of a time when luxury living” meant double-door entries, scenic lots, and a very specific kind of debt.
The neighborhood may not have become the Eden Duc & Elliot envisioned, but in its own way, it did reach the heights—it just took a few extra builders, and a whole lot of time.
Exploring the original Los Altos Heights today
Although the sales offices are long gone and the advertisements have faded, the original Los Altos Heights model homes remain part of the neighborhood. These homes gave prospective buyers their first glimpse of Duc & Elliot's vision for suburban living in 1966.
Today, they provide a tangible connection to Los Altos Heights' earliest days. The guide below documents the original model home complex, the homes themselves, and how they appear today.
Original advertised prices
- 1966: $27,500 - $30,950
- 1967: $28,800 - $32,450
- 1968: (second phase, January preview): From $24,500
- 1968: (February opening): From $24,800
The first original model home complex (1966)
When Los Altos Heights opened, buyers toured a carefully staged collection of Duc & Elliot model homes showcasing the neighborhood’s mix of architecture, indoor-outdoor living, and family-oriented floor plans. Though individual elevations varied, these original models helped define much of the neighborhood’s visual identity.
The six original models opened in 1966 on Saint George Court. While homes were available for purchase, buyers could also buy lots and build their own custom homes.
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| Annotated aerial map of the 1966 Los Altos Heights model home complex on Saint George Court. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original model home designs
1. The Plan 1 - This model offered approximately 2,425 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
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| A Plan 1 home (original model is camera shy) via Google Street View. |
2. The Mount Rushmore - This model offered approximately 2,000 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Mount Rushmore model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Mount Whitney - This model offered approximately 1,710 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Mount Whitney model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Plan 4 - This model offered approximately 2,125 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 4 model today via Google Street View. |
5. The El Capitan - This model offered approximately 2,256 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
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| Original El Capitan model today (expanded) via Google Street View. |
6. The Plan 6 - This model offered approximately 1,739 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 6 model today (expanded) via Google Street View. |
The second original model home complex (1968)
A model complex of three homes opened on Briarwood Drive in February 1968.
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| Annotated aerial map of the 1968 Los Altos Heights model home complex on Briarwood Drive. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original model home designs
1. The Plan 1 - This model offered approximately 1,553 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 1 model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Plan 2 - This model offered approximately 1,579 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 2 model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Plan 3 - This model offered approximately 1,670 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 3 model today via Google Street View. |
Collection
Livermore — the places that built a modern city
This collection explores the new-home communities, builders, and neighborhoods that transformed Livermore during the decades when ranches, orchards, and open fields gave way to the neighborhoods that define the city today.
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