John Calder Mackay

Last updated

John Calder Mackay (April 20, 1920 - November 21, 2014) [1] was an American post-war real estate developer, best known for his modernist tract homes built by the company he co-founded, Mackay Homes. He also served on the board of directors for the Children's Health Council and was one of the founders of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. [1]

Contents

Mackay Homes

Early years

In 1948 John Mackay built the first commercial building in downtown Menlo Park, California (on Santa Cruz Avenue). [1] He founded the home building company Mackay Homes in 1950. [2]

Design

Mackay homes in the Modernist tract style are examples of Modernist architecture that has come to be known as "California Modern". These homes typically feature glass walls, post-and-beam construction, enclosed patios and open floor plans in a style indebted to Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. [3] The Mackay homes were designed by Anshen & Allen, the same architects who worked with Joseph Eichler. [4] The homes were known for their wonderful light and use of outdoor living space. [5] Mackay's have raised foundations and forced air heating, unlike Eichler's slab foundations and radiant heating. [3]

Mackay Homes built homes in other architectural styles as well, but they are best known for their California Modernist homes.

History

In the 1950s, Mackay-manufactured homes often represented moving from farmland or remote locations into the newly developed suburbs. For some, this was a dream that had spanned multiple generations and ushered them closer to middle class. [6]

Joseph Eichler's son Ned Eichler stated in a 2001 interview, "There were Kaufman and Broad, there was Mackay Homes, and there were local builders wherever we were building," when asked about competition in the residential building market in the early years. [7]

Mackay homes were built for 30 years, and included over 15,000 apartments, homes and office parks in 13 states. [2] Many of the developments were located in the San Francisco Bay Area. [2]

Mackay Midcentury neighborhoods

Personal life

Mackay was born April 20, 1920, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended Stanford University from 1939 to 1942, and graduated in 1942 with a degree in Pre-Legal. [1] In 1942 he married Ellen Ann Evans and later had four children with her. [1] From 1942 to 1946, Mackay served in the US Navy during Asiatic-Pacific Theater. [1] He returned to Stanford University and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1948. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto, California</span> City in California, United States

Palo Alto is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Clara Valley</span> Valley in Northern California, United States

The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (140 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east by the Diablo Range; the two coastal ranges meet south of Hollister. The San Francisco Bay borders the valley to the north, and fills much of the northern third of the valley. The valley floor is an alluvial plain that formed in the graben between the San Andreas Fault to the west and the Hayward and Calaveras faults to the east. Within the valley and surrounding the bay on three sides are the urban communities of San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, and Alameda County, while the narrow southern reaches of the valley extend into rural San Benito County to Hollister. In practical terms, the central portion of the Santa Clara Valley is often considered by itself, contained entirely within Santa Clara County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Quincy Jones</span> American architect

Archibald Quincy Jones was a Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Eichler</span> 20th century American architect

Joseph Leopold Eichler was a 20th-century post-war American real estate developer known for developing distinctive residential subdivisions of Mid-century modern style tract housing in California. He was one of the influential advocates of bringing modern architecture from custom residences and large corporate buildings to general public availability. His company and developments remain in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juana Briones de Miranda</span> American businesswoman (1802-1889)

Juana Briones de Miranda was a Californio ranchera, medical practitioner, and merchant, often remembered as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco", for her noted involvement in the early development of the city of San Francisco. Later in her life, she also played an important role in developing modern Palo Alto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto Airport</span> Airport in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto Airport is a general aviation airport in the city of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County, California, United States, near the south end of San Francisco Bay on the western shore.

Birge Malcolm Clark was an American architect, called “Palo Alto's best-loved architect” by the Palo Alto Weekly; he worked largely in the Spanish Colonial Revival style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisquito Creek</span> River in California, United States

San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776. San Francisquito Creek courses through the towns of Portola Valley and Woodside, as well as the cities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and East Palo Alto. The creek and its Los Trancos Creek tributary define the boundary between San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto station</span> Train station in Palo Alto, California, U.S.

Palo Alto station is an intermodal transit center in Palo Alto, California. It is served by Caltrain regional rail service, SamTrans and Santa Clara VTA local bus service, Dumbarton Express regional bus service, the Stanford University Marguerite Shuttle, and several local shuttle services. Palo Alto is the second-busiest Caltrain station after San Francisco, averaging 7,764 weekday boardings by a 2018 count. The Caltrain station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Peninsula Subdivision and a nearby bus transfer plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Creek (Santa Clara County)</span> Stream in Santa Clara County, California

Adobe Creek, historically San Antonio Creek, is a 14.2-mile-long (22.9 km) northward-flowing stream originating on Black Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It courses through the cities of Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, and Palo Alto on its way to the Palo Alto Flood Basin and thence to southwestern San Francisco Bay in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Historically, Adobe Creek was a perennial stream and hosted runs of steelhead trout entering from the Bay, but these salmonids are now blocked by numerous flood control structures, including a tidal gate at the creek's mouth and a long concretized rectangular channel culminating in an impassable drop structure at El Camino Real. The co-founders of Adobe Systems both lived on Adobe Creek.

Anshen and Allen was an international architecture, planning and design firm headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Boston, Columbus, and London. The firm was ranked eighth for sustainable practices, and nineteenth overall in the "Architect 50" published by Architect magazine in 2010. They also ranked twenty-eighth in the top "100 Giants" of Interior Design 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve</span>

The Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, known officially as the Baylands Nature Preserve, is the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of tidal and fresh water habitats. The preserve encompasses 1,940 acres in both Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, and is owned by the city of Palo Alto, California, United States. It is an important habitat for migratory shorebirds and is considered one of the best birdwatching spots on the West Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frenchman's Tower</span> Water tower in Palo Alto, United States

Frenchman's Tower is a two-story red brick structure located in Santa Clara County, California, that resembles a medieval fortification. Built in 1875, the structure was listed as a California Point of Historical Interest in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barron Creek</span> River in California, United States

Barron Creek is a 5.8-mile-long (9.3 km) northward-flowing stream originating in the lower foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Altos Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It courses northerly through the cities of Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto, before joining Adobe Creek just south of U.S. Highway 101. As Adobe Creek, its waters continue northwards to southwest San Francisco Bay after crossing under Highway 101 and traversing the Palo Alto Flood Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenmeadow (Palo Alto, California)</span> Historic house in California, United States

Greenmeadow is a subdivision located in southern Palo Alto, California.

Frederick Earl Emmons was an American architect. With A. Quincy Jones, he designed many residential properties, including tract houses developed by Joseph Eichler in the Pacific Palisades, Orange, Palo Alto, San Rafael, and commercial buildings in Palm Springs, Pomona, Whittier and Los Angeles. They also designed the Charles E. Young Research Library on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-100 (house)</span> United States historic place

The X-100 is an experimental steel house designed by A. Quincy Jones with his partner Frederick Emmons for Eichler Homes and built in 1956 at the San Mateo Highlands development in California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Monta Loma is a neighborhood in Mountain View, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Located between the bounds of San Antonio Road, Middlefield Road, Rengstorff Avenue and Central Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 Santa Clara rugby team</span> American college football season

The 1917 Santa Clara rugby team was a college rugby team that represented Santa Clara University as an independent during the 1917 college football season. The team compiled a 9–1 record, shut out eight of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 334 to 18.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "John Mackay's Obituary on San Francisco Chronicle". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco Chronicle. 2014-11-30. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Obituaries". Stanford Magazine. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. 1 2 "Mackay Homes – Eichler Lookalikes". www.eichlerforsale.com. Marin Modern Real Estate. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  4. ↑ Weinstein, Dave. "Meet the Mackays". Eichler Network. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  5. ↑ Nishimine, Judi (2004-06-04). "Expand horizons of narrow room". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  6. ↑ Malone, Michael S. (2002). The Valley of Heart's Delight: A Silicon Valley Notebook 1963 - 2001 . San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. pp.  77-78. ISBN   047120191X.
  7. ↑ Adamson, Paul; Arbunich, Marty (2002). Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream. Kaysville, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN   1586851845.
  8. 1 2 Weinstein, Dave (2015-04-15). "Mid-Century Mackay Homes Deserve Respect". Eichler Network. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  9. ↑ "Fairmede, Tract Housing". Mackay Home. Intero Real Estate. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  10. ↑ "Ross Park, Mackay Homes, 1956 - Newspapers.com". The Times. 1956-06-06. Retrieved 2018-10-14– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ DeBolt, Daniel (2011-10-10). "Steve Jobs called Mountain View home as a child". Mountain View Voice News. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  12. ↑ "Woodlands History". Woodlands Association. 2015. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.