Cherry Hills Crest & Cherry Hills View
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Our neighborhood reflects the architecture prevalent in postwar building – The Ranch (broadly defined). The “traditional” ranch design style has a long, low roofline and a single-story rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped design. The style emphasizes blending indoor/outdoor living, incorporating sliding glass doors leading to a large patio area, a large picture window on the front of the house, an attached garage, and a simple open floor plan separated from the bedroom areas. By 1950, 9 out of every 10 new homes in the United States were built in the ranch-style.
The ranch house was first designed in the 1930s, borrowing features from Southwestern and Spanish architecture. As the popularity of the ranch home grew, the different types expanded including the California Ranch (L or U- shaped), Suburban Ranch (asymmetrical with attached garage), Split-Level Ranch (three staggered levels), Raised Ranch (front door opens to stairs leading up and downstairs), and the Storybook Ranch (fairytale ornamental details, diamond-shaped widows, steep gabled roof), Modern Ranch/Mid-Century Modern (updated features with popular current materials), The list is expansive!
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​ Ads appearing in the Rocky Mountain
News in 1959 and 1960 hail the dream
of owning a ranch-style, executive
rambling ranch and deluxe garden
level living with outdoor amenities
for the family. Courtesy of Rocky
Mountain News.
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Nationally, the postwar design preferences, as stated in the Community Homebuilders Handbook, “Elimination of moldings, fewer dust catchers, use of washable kitchen walls, open planning and large window areas, all reduce maintenance cost and have a definite sales appeal.” Outdoor amenities included patios, a BBQ area, concrete driveways, and a large yard for children. Front porches were eliminated or severely reduced in size as the house focused on backyard living.
A survey conducted by House and Home Magazine in 1955 noted that larger houses with a basement and modern kitchen appliances were in demand. Of those responding, 92 percent wanted a garbage disposal and 63% a dishwasher—“The garbage disposal is the kingpin of appliances.”
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​ Ads from the 1961 and 1962 Littleton Independent
spotlight the modern necessities for comfortable
su. suburban living. Courtesy of Littleton Independent.
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Surrounding residential subdivisions began developing during the 1950s and into the 1960s. Unlike Cherry Hills Crest and Cherry Hills View, other developments offered several differing styles of model homes, or “show homes,” for buyers to choose from. The Southglenn development (1961), developed by Perl-Mack, designed the community featuring Ranch, Split-level, Tri-level, and two-story homes placed throughout the community to avoid the community resembling other communities planned with the same architecture. Cherry Knolls (1958) had seven show homes built by various builders. Dream Home Acres (1958) also had several models to choose from. Broadway Estates (1956) was planned with a shopping center, two schools, a park, a recreation center, and a pool. By 1958, the developer Benjamin Perlmutter introduced the “Dial-A-Home,” allowing buyers to customize their homes with a selection of options.
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Cherry Hills Crest and Cherry Hills View Home Builders
Cherry Hills Crest had several home builders, with several builders purchasing numerous lots in the development, while Cherry Hills View had fewer builders. However, both subdivisions have a consistent design expression. It is curious why some homes have exterior resemblances or similar interior trims, leading people to guess if they were built by the same builder.
Below are the links to both subdivisions, tracing the real estate transactions for each property from the time of the subdivision filing to the first homeowner of the property. The information was obtained from the Arapahoe Court Real Estate Subdivision Records found at the Denver Public Library. The information only intends to highlight the various builders contributing to the neighborhood (not a title search!). The Littleton City Directories (1959, 1961 or 1962) were used to substantiate the first homeowner.
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Cherry Hills Crest Early Home Ownership
Cherry Hills View Early Home Ownership
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