Ranch Style Housing History

The Style

• Ranch-style architecture features residential structures that are built with a low roofline and basic floor plan. Unlike traditional prewar-style homes, which have a relatively narrow front and face the curb and stretch to the back of the lot, Ranch-style homes are generally turned sideways, facing the street, to give a long and expansive appearance. These homes were the first to place the bedroom at the front of the house and living quarters in the rear. An "eat-in" kitchen and dining room connected to the living room eliminates at least two walls. The exterior lacks adornment, such as porticos and gables. The kitchen---usually placed at the rear of the house---generally features a large window overlooking the back yard, according to the Washington Post and Slate magazine.

Background

• Ranch-style housing can trace its roots to the early 1930s. Self-taught architect Cliff May is credited for popularizing the styling. The design, however, was not created in a vacuum. The essence of the ranch-style house derived from the 19th century Spanish California adobes, which were built low to the ground to keep the residence cool and featured verandas that often served as living quarters during the summer and as hallways that connect the rooms. May also used elements of the Usonian homes, which were flat-roofed, L-shaped, single-story structures championed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Boom

• The beauty of the ranch-style home is its simplicity. At the end of World War II, there was a critical need for mass housing to accommodate the demand of returning servicemen and their new families. The ranch-style house revolutionized how homes were built. The structure was often placed directly on a cement slab, eliminating the need for a basement or crawl space. Most homes until the late 1940s had cabinets, framing and amenities constructed onsite. The basic no-frills ranch-style home allowed builders to prefabricate the framing, cabinets and bathroom materials at one location and then deliver it to the site.

Suburbs Are Born

• The architecture of the ranch-style house promoted conformity, which led to assembly-line-style building of homes and the tract house. Whether the floor plan was boxed, rectangular or L-shaped, builders could use a variation of the same floor plan to build dozens, if not hundreds, of homes on a large tract of land in a short period of time. William Levitt perfected this art of inexpensive and expedient house building on the East Coast with his "Levittowns."

Legacy

• Ranch-style homes are so ubiquitous, especially in the western United States, that millions of baby boomers and their offspring can claim they grew up in one. Architects today often dress up a ranch-style house with Victorian bric-a-brac, Tudor- and the Colonial-style embellishments or gable roof flourishes. But underneath remains the basic ranch-style design that makes the most economical use of living space.