Published June 22, 2025
By the early 1970s, Livermore was rapidly expanding—and so were its housing tracts. In May 1972, builder H.C. Elliott introduced his final project in the city: Somerset West, a 90-acre housing tract nestled just west of Elliott's original Town Square housing tract. Over the next two years, approximately 279 homes would take shape here—a quintessential suburban retreat, with wood siding, avocado-green appliances, and gently curving cul-de-sacs, marking a defining moment in Livermore’s postwar growth.
The first 186 homes (Units 1 through 3) borrowed from the earlier Somerset models on Delaware Way, while the last two units brought in fresh floor plans—and a new model home complex for the touring public to admire, judge, and imagine their futures in.
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| 1972 Oakland Tribune ad announcing the grand opening of Somerset West, showcasing the New Somerset model and its price range during the initial phase of the tract's development. |
Mapping Somerset West
The Somerset West housing tract can be found around Hagemann Drive, Yosemite Drive, Rainer Avenue, and Hummingbird Lane in north Livermore.
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| The Somerset West housing tract by H. C. Elliott occupies the area south of East Jack London Boulevard and east of Murrieta Boulevard in Livermore. Base imagery via Google Maps. |
Somerset West homes and architectural style
When H. C. Elliott introduced Somerset West in 1972, 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 Livermore.
The original Somerset West models
The original model homes provide a useful cross-section of Somerset West's architecture. H. C. Elliott selected six models for the September 1973 opening on Hagemann Drive, with at least four additional designs not modeled. Although buyers could choose among different elevations and options, these models document the versions Elliott chose to put on display.
Previous to this model complex, H. C. Elliott used the Somerset sales complex for home sales.
The Scottsdale
This model offered approximately 1,343 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Scottsdale model today via Google Street View. |
The Danbury
This model offered approximately 1,130 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Danbury model today via Google Street View. |
The Homestead
This model offered approximately 1,048 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
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| November 1973 advertisement for Somerset West, highlighting the Homestead model as part of H.C. Elliott’s final phase of homebuilding in the city. |
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| Original Homestead model today via Google Street View. |
The Monterey
This model offered approximately 1,427 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Monterey model today via Google Street View. |
The Huntington
This model offered approximately 1,479 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Known for its innovative “curvilinear kitchen”, the Huntington model featured a unique round kitchen design.
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| 1973 Oakland Tribune ad featuring the Huntington model, highlighting its unique design, including the standout curvilinear kitchen, as a bold step forward in suburban living. |
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| Original Huntington model today via Google Street View. |
The Sheffield (Plan 6)
This model offered approximately 1,573 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. A reworked version of the original Huntington from Delaware Way (Somerset Homes).
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| Original Sheffield model today via Google Street View. |
Designs not shown in the model complex
The New Somerset (Plan 5)
This model offered approximately 1,562 square feet with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and unfinished second-story. Alternatively, it was offered finished with a total of 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (Plan 5-2).
The Californian (Plan 4)
This model offered approximately 1,561 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
The Ridgewood (Plan 2-L)
This model offered approximately 1,366 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| A Ridgewood home (not shown in model complex) via Google Street View. |
The Ranch Californian (Plan 4-SL)
This model offered approximately 1,536 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| A Ranch Californian home (not shown in model complex) via Google Street View. |
Marketing Somerset West
Among the many features that have helped make Somerset West a success were hand-split cedar shake roofs, tiled entryways, insulation in outside walls and ceilings, forced air heating, and carpeting throughout living rooms, dining rooms, halls, and bedrooms. Fireplaces were included in four of the ten available floor plans and could be added as an option in three others.
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| May 1972 Contra Costa Times—in his eighth year of building in Livermore, H. C. Elliott boasted 1200 families loving their homes. |
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| September 1974 Contra Costa Times—H. C. Elliott's culmination of building Livermore nears sellout; only 30 homes left in Somerset West, where Livermore living is at its best. |
Legacy of Somerset West
By late 1974, sales in Somerset West had quietly wrapped up—no headlines, no grand finale. Like many suburban developments of the era, it simply transitioned from active construction site to lived-in neighborhood. Streets once lined with lumber and model homes gave way to bicycles, garden hoses, and the rhythms of daily life.
Though not the most high-profile of Elliott’s developments, Somerset West remains a noteworthy chapter in the city’s residential history. It marked the culmination of a builder’s influence and a community’s transition—offering attainable homeownership at a time of rapid regional change. For the families who moved in, it offered exactly what was needed: a comfortable home, a modest yard, and a place in one of Livermore’s most enduring neighborhoods.
Collection
Livermore — the making of a suburban city
Continue exploring
- Town Square by H. C. Elliott — a 1964 new-home community in Livermore
- Somerset Homes by H. C. Elliott (Livermore, 1968)
- The Expandables by Kaufman & Broad (Livermore, 1969)
- H. C. Elliott — building across the Tri-Valley
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