Published October 3, 2025
By 1973, inflation was rising, gas was rationed, but Mackay Homes still believed in giving home buyers their casita de ensueño. After completing its 1968 housing tract, which Mackay also marketed under the name Del Prado, the builder opened a second Del Prado housing tract farther into the Del Prado neighborhood, closer to the swim club.
Although sales began in late 1973, it wasn't until early 1974 that five model homes opened on Hansen Drive at Calle Reynoso. Valley Avenue hadn’t been completed then, so Hansen was the primary route into the tract.
Mapping the 1973 Mackay Del Prado
Mackay Homes’ 1973 housing tract was built around Calle Reynoso in the Del Prado neighborhood. Some of Mackay’s earlier homes Del Prado homes also stand in this section.
 |
| Annotated aerial map showing the location of Mackay Homes' 1973 Del Prado housing tract within the Del Prado neighborhood in Pleasanton. |
Homes and architecture
When Mackay Homes introduced its second Del Prado housing tract in 1973, prospective buyers encountered the development through its model homes. The models showcased the different designs, floor plans, and lifestyles the builder was offering to buyers in Pleasanton.
The 1973 Del Prado home designs
The original model homes provide a useful cross-section of Del Prado's architecture. Mackay Homes presented five models in a sales complex on Hansen Drive, offering buyers a range of house sizes, floor plans, and architectural styles. Together, the models document the different designs Mackay Homes chose to put on display when the tract opened in 1973.
The Valencia
This two-story design offered approximately 1,892 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
 |
| Present-day view of the home that served as Mackay Homes' 1973 Valencia model in Del Prado. Imagery from Google Street View. |
The Barcelona
This tri-level design in a contemporary elevation offered approximately 1,897 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
|
| Present-day view of the home that served as Mackay Homes' 1973 Barcelona model in Del Prado. Imagery from Google Street View. |
The Seville
This design offered approximately 1,800 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
 |
| Present-day view of the home that served as Mackay Homes' 1973 Seville model in Del Prado. Imagery from Google Street View. |
The Granada
This design offered approximately 1,836 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
 |
| Present-day view of the home that served as Mackay Homes' 1973 Granada model in Del Prado. Imagery from Google Street View. |
The Monterey
This two-story design offered approximately 2,266 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
 |
| Present-day view of the home that served as Mackay Homes' 1973 Monterey model in Del Prado. Imagery from Google Street View. |
Marketing Del Prado
By 1974, Mackay Homes’ Del Prado homes had entered truly premium territory. With base prices beginning at $48,950, they stood well above the national median home price of about $35,900. That gap tells us something: buyers weren’t just paying for shelter—they were buying status, style, and innovation.
 |
| January 1974 Oakland Tribune ad—by 1974, even houses got the memo: compact, efficient, and a little boxier. Like a post-gas-crisis car, but with a wetbar and harvest gold appliances. |
The homes boasted features that helped set the tract aparts: self‑cleaning ovens, master retreats, optional fireplaces, furniture‑style wood cabinets, and fully insulated walls. In its ads, Mackay Homes didn’t merely sell a house; it sold an elevated lifestyle, promising comfort, elegance, and long‑term value.
Compared to Mackay Homes’ earlier housing tract in Del Prado, this new tract had larger homes and more refined finishes. And this time, the tract came with a cabana and community pool.
 |
| February 1974 newspaper ad for Mackay Homes’ Del Prado, promoting “The Distinctive Homes of Del Prado” with upscale features like energy-saving insulation, natural wood cabinets, food disposers, and membership in the Cabana Swim Club. The image shows an aspirational vision of suburban luxury in the mid-1970s. |
By the end of 1974, Mackay Homes had wrapped up its work in Del Prado. A few years later, the builder was absorbed into the short-lived Kaiser-Aetna partnership, which spun off into Ponderosa Homes.
The homes of the 1973 tract remain part of the Del Prado neighborhood today, along with earlier Mackay homes built under the Del Prado name.
Collection
Pleasanton — postwar homes and housing tracts
Comments
Post a Comment