In 1968, William Lyon Homes began home sales in San Ramon with a distinctly California vision of suburban living: bright kitchens, expandable floor plans, compact efficiency, and just enough style to make tract housing feel futuristic.
While we tend to think of new-home community names as the ultimate name of a neighborhood, that wasn't the case with William Lyon Homes. The company instead offered lines of homes in areas it owned, just as Sunset Homes did in Livermore. While this practice was applied elsewhere in the Bay Area, the first new-home community offered was a series of homes called California Classics —a collection of affordable homes built during San Ramon’s rapid suburban expansion. Yet, it left homeowners without a clear identity of the community it was built in (some realtors call it "Westchester" for the street that runs through it).
California Classics didn’t remain the only line of homes in a single tract for long. As market conditions changed, William Lyon Homes introduced the home series into the nearby Danridge tract, where a second line of larger homes was introduced just after California Classics, and marketed to a different segment. As time passed, a third home series was introduced in the California Classics and Danridge tracts, and it was called the American Classics. In which case, all the tracts owned by William Lyon Homes were weaved together with common architectural features, but widely different homes sizes.
What had begun as a single tract concept had evolved into a layered housing system—reflecting how quickly suburban design, pricing, and expectations were shifting.
At the center of it all was a simple idea: flexible suburban living for modern California families.
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| November 1968 Oakland Tribune ad—William Lyon announcing its position in the California new home market while introducing California Classics in San Ramon. |
Selling the dream
William Lyon marketed California Classics as modern suburban living without unnecessary excess. The homes ranged from compact starter models to larger family layouts, but nearly all emphasized efficiency, flexibility, and light-filled interiors.
A selling point was the “Terrace Kitchen,” wrapped with wall-to-wall gold anodized aluminum windows. Ads treated it almost like a technological breakthrough — a bright, open kitchen designed to make suburban family life feel modern and sophisticated.
Many homes also featured expandable second-story spaces. Buyers could purchase unfinished bonus rooms initially, then complete them later as bedrooms, hobby rooms, or game rooms as budgets and families grew.
California Classics quickly became one of William Lyon’s most recognizable Tri-Valley developments.
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| April 1969 Contra Costa Times newspaper clipping—Terrace Kitchens, wrapped in glass and filled with light, won over buyers regardless of their compact size. |
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| December 1970 Contra Costa Times newspaper clipping—in the bonus room of the Look Ahead House, chalking her cue in a flowing ’70s dress—pool table, Pepsi-Cola glow, and a night made for style and games. |
American Classics arrive
By 1971, the housing market had shifted. Rising prices and tighter budgets pushed builders toward smaller, more affordable homes, and William Lyon responded with a new series called American Classics.
Unlike the original California Classics homes, these designs emphasized compact floor plans and aggressive pricing. Some were among the least expensive new homes in the East Bay at the time.
Rather than building the line in a new tract, William Lyon inserted the American Classics homes throughout the growing California Classics and Danridge tracts, gradually blending the developments together.
The sales office operated in a welcome center on San Ramon Valley Boulevard near Alcosta.
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| September 1971 Oakland Tribune ad—when homes sold for under $21K, the real upset wasn’t the buyers—it was the neighbors. |
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| June 1971 Contra Costa Times newspaper clipping—Ruth Buzzi from Laugh-In greets guests at the grand opening of the American Classics in San Ramon. |
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| August 1971 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—Plan 6 — 938 square feet of carefully arranged optimism, possibly in San Ramon... or maybe just a photo from somewhere else. |
Legacy of California Classics
California Classics captured a moment when suburban builders were experimenting with how much flexibility they could pack into tract housing.
Expandable bonus rooms, glass-wrapped kitchens, compact floorplans, and affordable pricing all reflected the realities of late-1960s California growth. Buyers wanted modern homes, but they also needed practicality.
As the market shifted in the early 1970s, William Lyon adapted by introducing the smaller American Classics series and expanding beyond the original neighborhood boundaries. The result was a patchwork of home styles that still defines the area today.
And while the names “California Classics” and “American Classics” have mostly faded from memory, the homes themselves remain easy to spot — especially the Terrace Kitchens and expandable second stories that once promised a more flexible version of suburban living.
Exploring the original California Classics
When William Lyon Homes introduced California Classics in 1968, 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 San Ramon.
The original model homes provide a way to revisit that introduction. The guide below shows where William Lyon 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
At the end of Randolph Place stood six decorated model homes, representing a selection from up to ten available floor plans (not all plans were shown).
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| Annotated aerial map of the original California Classics model home complex on Randolph Place. The sales office was at the corner of Tareyton, but demolished. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original advertised prices
- 1968: $19,990 - $23,725
- 1969: $19,990 - $25,990
- 1970: From $21,990
- 1971: From $25,750
Former model homes
1. The first model home (unknown name) – This model offered approximately 1,453 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original first model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Plan 1 – This model offered approximately 888 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
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| Original Plan 1 model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Plan 3 – This model offered approximately 1,153 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 3 model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Plan 2 – This model offered approximately 1,407 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and up to 3 bathrooms. Featured a convertible second-floor space that buyers could finish as additional bedrooms or leave unfinished. This was the most popular model, later renamed the Plan 42, Bonus Room House, and Look Ahead House.
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| Original Look Ahead House model today via Google Street View. |
5. The Plan 4 – This model offered approximately 1,383 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 4 model today via Google Street View. |
6. The sixth model home (unknown name) – This model offered approximately 1,448 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Introduced after the sales complex opened.
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| Original sixth model today via Google Street View. |
Exploring the original American Classics
Original advertised prices
- 1971 (American Classics): $19,990 - $25,990
Original model home designs
1. The Plan 5 - This model offered approximately 905 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
2. The Plan 6 - This model offered approximately 938 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
3. The Plan 7 - This model offered approximately 1,595 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
Collections
San Ramon — the neighborhoods that built a suburban city
This collection explores the new-home communities, builders, and neighborhoods that shaped San Ramon during its principle years of suburban growth that gradually became the modern city.
The San Ramon Village collection explores the master-planned community that transformed former ranches and orchards into today's Dublin and South San Ramon. Although the name has largely disappeared, the neighborhoods, subdivisions, schools, parks, and shopping centers built as part of the original plan continue to shape the Tri-Valley.
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