Published May 18, 2026
In June 1964, Morrison Homes introduced Pleasanton Valley, a new suburban development built on what had only recently been open countryside at the edge of Pleasanton. Drawn by the town’s rural setting, small downtown, and growing connection to the East Bay, families arrived looking for something increasingly difficult to find in the Bay Area: space, quiet, and a slower pace of life.
Pleasanton Valley became Morrison Homes' first major residential development in Pleasanton and one of the developments that established the city's northwest suburban edge. What began in 1964 as a housing tract would expand through additional phases and home series over the following years, helping create a neighborhood that became home to thousands of residents.
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| August 1964 Oakland Tribune ad, Morrison Homes sold Pleasanton Valley as a return to country living without sacrificing Bay Area convenience. In a playful scene staged atop hay bales, one boy hushes another while dad naps nearby — a reminder that open space, quiet streets, and room to breathe were becoming part of the suburban dream. The promise was simple: rural comfort just 35 minutes from Oakland. |
Pleasanton Valley homes and architectural style
When Morrison Homes introduced Pleasanton Valley in 1964, prospective buyers encountered the new housing tract through its model homes. The original designs established the first group of homes built in the development, before Morrison later introduced additional home series within the growing neighborhood.
The original model homes provide a way to revisit that introduction. The guide below shows where Morrison Homes' models were located, preserves the original sales material where available, and explores the designs the builder offered to prospective buyers when Pleasanton Valley was new.
Original model home complex
Morrison Homes initially presented four models in a sales complex on Greentree Court. A fifth model, the Monterey House, was introduced in 1965.
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| Annotated aerial map of the original Pleasanton Valley Series model homes on Greentree Court. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original advertised prices
- Aug. 1964 advertisement: From $20,300
- Sep. 1965 advertisement: $21,150 - $26,175
The original model homes
1. The Terrace House - This model offered approximately 1,970 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| In a January 1965 newspaper ad, Morrison Homes announced a fifth design known as the Terrace House. Marketed around privacy and separation of space, the floor plan reflected changing suburban priorities — formal living areas kept apart from the louder, everyday rhythm of family life. |
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2. The Country House - This model offered approximately 1,540 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| September 1965 Oakland Tribune ad, Morrison Homes targeted the fast-growing suburban family with the “Country House.” The copy leaned into the noise and chaos of mid-century family life — crying babies, running boys, and teenage phone calls — presenting Pleasanton Valley as a place where growing households could finally spread out. |
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| Original Country House model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Arbor House - This model offered approximately 1,716 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Arbor House model today (with second-story addition) via Google Street View. |
4. The Garden House - This 1 1/2-story model offered approximately 1,790 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Garden House model today (with extension over garage) via Google Street View. |
5. The Monterey House - This model offered approximately 2,047 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Added in 1965.
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| An October 1965 Oakland Tribune ad asked a question many Bay Area buyers were beginning to ask themselves: were small suburban lots enough anymore? Morrison Homes answered with the Monterey House, then the largest model in Pleasanton Valley, designed to give homeowners more land, more privacy, and a stronger sense of space. |
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| Original Monterey House model today via Google Street View. |
Selling the dream
Pleasanton Valley was marketed as an escape from the increasingly crowded East Bay. Advertisements promised clean air, quiet streets, and the feeling of country living without sacrificing access to Oakland or San Francisco. In the mid-1960s, that balance became a powerful selling point.
For Morrison Homes, Pleasanton Valley represented a major expansion into a town that was beginning to attract Bay Area families seeking more space and a less urban setting.
The homes themselves reflected the optimism of the era. Buyers were offered features typically associated with more expensive custom homes: oak parquet flooring, sunken living rooms, double vanities, and fully electric kitchens equipped with Waste King ovens, dishwashers, disposals, and ranges.
The neighborhood grew quickly around them. A swim club opened in 1965, while schools including Walnut Grove Elementary School and Harvest Park Middle School were either planned or under construction as Pleasanton prepared for a new generation of suburban families.
A neighborhood takes shape
The first phase of Pleasanton Valley helped transform Pleasanton from a small agricultural town into a modern suburban city. More phases followed over the next several years, gradually filling former fields and orchards with winding streets, ranch homes, and growing families.
Morrison Homes continued to build within Pleasanton Valley as the neighborhood expanded, introducing new home series with different designs, floor plans, and price points. The original 1964 homes were therefore not the end of a development, but the beginning of a much larger neighborhood story.
For many Bay Area residents in the mid-1960s, Pleasanton Valley represented an ideal balance: country living within commuting distance of Oakland and the expanding East Bay job market. The homes were larger than many competing housing tracts, designed with privacy in mind, and built for the changing rhythms of postwar family life.
Morrison Homes didn't just build houses in Pleasanton. Its development helped establish the suburban landscape that would define Pleasanton's northwest edge for decades to come.
Collection
Pleasanton — building a suburban city
Continue exploring
Morrison Homes continued developing Pleasanton Valley for more than a decade, introducing new home series as the neighborhood expanded.
- Pleasanton Valley – Walnut Grove Series by Morrison Homes — 1966
- Pleasanton Valley – Something Special Series by Morrison Homes — 1969
- Pleasanton Valley – Executive Series by Morrison Homes — 1976
- Creeks Bend: Morrison Homes' 1978 housing tract in Pleasanton
- Pleasanton Valley — the neighborhood that built modern Pleasanton
- Morrison Homes — how one builder helped shape modern Pleasanton
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