Long before Livermore became known for wineries and commuter neighborhoods, much of the city was ranches, orchards, and open fields. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating through the 1960s and 1970s, those landscapes gave way to a diverse collection of subdivisions built by many of Northern California's most influential homebuilders. Some became lasting neighborhood identities. Others were absorbed into larger communities as the city continued to grow.
Together, these places tell the story of how Livermore evolved from a small agricultural town into one of the Tri-Valley's defining suburban cities. Through original advertisements, newspaper coverage, maps, and photographs, TractTales documents the neighborhoods, subdivisions, builders, and planning ideas that shaped modern Livermore.
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| Annotated Apple Maps view of Livermore showing the location of 1960s and 1970s neighborhoods in the city. |
Carlton Square
One of Livermore's early mid-1960s subdivisions, Carlton Square reflects the city's first wave of postwar suburban expansion.
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Granada Village (aka, Sunset West)
Livermore's first master-planned suburban community. Built by Sunset Homes from 1958 to 1968, it introduced a city-scale approach to suburban development that influenced Livermore's growth for decades.
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Granada Woods
Set within Sunset Homes' Granada Village community, Granada Woods is a small executive-home neighborhood, all custom-built.
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Los Altos Heights
One of the first subdivisions built on Livermore's north side, Los Altos Heights introduced hillside suburban living before its identity was gradually absorbed into what is now known as The Meadows.
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Shadowbrook
Developed during the 1970s, Shadowbrook reflects Livermore's later suburban growth as builders introduced larger homes and changing neighborhood designs.
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Somerset
As an extension of the Town Square community, Somerset was developed by H. C. Elliott in north Livermore. Somerset offers a quiet residential setting that reflects the popular suburban architectural styles of the 1960s and 1970s.
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Somerset West
Opened in north Livermore in the early 1970s, Somerset West marked the final chapter of H. C. Elliott’s residential development in Livermore, concluding more than a decade of continuous building activity in the city.
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Sunset East
Sunset East marked a turning point for Sunset Homes, where the builder introduced innovative home designs, larger lots, and neighborhood planning that helped redefine suburban living in Livermore.
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The Expandables
As north Livermore continued building out in the late 1960s, Kaufman & Broad purchased a tract between Somerset West and Somerset Homes, and built two sequential developments known as The Expandables and Green Meadows.
The Meadows
As Sunset Homes expanded north Livermore during the 1970s, its development gave the area a new identity. Today, The Meadows encompasses both Sunset's later neighborhoods and the earlier Los Altos Heights subdivision.
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Three Fountains
One of Sunset Homes' Livermore neighborhoods, Three Fountains combined multiple home series into a single neighborhood while still being connected to a larger Sunset community. It reflects a shift away from uniform neighborhoods towards neighborhoods built around greater architectural variety and buyer choice.
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Town Square
Built on the former Livermore Army Airfield, Town Square marked one of H. C. Elliott's earliest contributions to north Livermore's suburban expansion.
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Whispering Pines
Unlike neighborhoods built around a single set of homes, Whispering Pines brought together multiple Sunset Homes series within one cohesive neighborhood. Its mix of home designs reflect changing suburban tastes during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the only Sunset neighborhood without its own model home complex.