Split-Levels & Ranches
~ from the 1950's to 1970's ~
If you like this style of house... please also check out the "Mid-Century Gals" section - there are several ranch-style homes I've built in there as well.
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Back in the 1950s and ‘60s - when the USSR’s launch of Sputnik made outer space the new frontier, and the Beatles were transforming rock and roll music - the split-level home began to emerge on the American suburban landscape. At the time, the style appealed to a wide swath of buyers because it was a fresh design and it was grander than the modest bungalows that dominated many neighborhoods, yet could be affordably built on smaller lots than a sprawling ranch. Though the design is no longer considered modern, it is still practical for many of today’s buyers.
How It Evolved
The split-level design is believed to have derived from the ranch, which, in turn, was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s low-profile, horizontal Prairie homes and no-frills Usonian houses. The split levels divided public and private spaces through short half levels. With more families moving to the suburbs after World War II, many wanted a house that was a bit grander than the modest bungalows veterans purchased with G.I. Bill funds.
“The split originally was a way to build on a sloping site, but the interior visual connections it created were so popular it became a part of a new style,” says architect Stuart Cohen. Split-levels looked more substantial yet their quasi-stacked designs were still compact and could be affordably built on smaller lots. Their tri-level layout contained a lower-level family room and garage, mid-level entry and public rooms, and upper-level bedrooms and bathrooms.
Popularity Peaks in the '70s
The design gained a bigger following after the TV sitcom, The Brady Bunch, debuted in 1969. America saw how a split-level house worked well for Mike and Carol Brady’s large blended family with six children, and their housekeeper, Alice. The exterior of the Brady’s home was modeled on one built in 1959 by Luther and Louise Carson in San Fernando Valley, Calif., according to David Brady’s Web site. In many communities, entire subdivisions were constructed in the 1960s with split-levels and “ramblers” - ranches with a basement.
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