San Lorenzo Before Moderniztion of Construction

Wow world ! Historical research is TOUGH ! This is indeed a challenge. Over the next ten weeks or so I will be discussing the San Lorenzo Village Community architectural styles and the home association restrictive covenants during post WWII developments.
Before the " Cookie Cutter" homes that currently exists in the San Lorenzo Villages, this was pretty much what you got. A home or farm that provided production for cherries and other fruits to be sold by the squatters that sculpted the lands. Early San Lorenzo business and attractions such as the Roberts Landing Warehouse and the San Lorenzo Grove began to pull many people into the community. As more people flocked into the city at the turn of the 20th century, vast acres of land were subdivided for the multitude of housing demands.
If we fast forward into the 1920's and 1930's, Ranch style homes began to take presence in start up communities from coast to coast. The ranch style house continued to develop characteristics during this period. Architectural design in California began to reflect Mediterranean and Hispanic architectural traditions. As the architectural design remained strong through the depression and World War I, the amount of homes being produced could not suffice to the growing demands of returning G.I's.
The demand for tract houses during post World Ward Two grew to staggering numbers.The popularity of the ranch house grew beyond residential architecture as well. Since the ranch house was a low budget project, it was easily adapted for almost every building type. Schools, public buildings, club buildings, theaters, and health care facilities were among the many nonresidential examples that were designed to resemble single-family ranch houses. Two buildings in the San Lorenzo Valley that stand out as models of architecture is the San Lorenzo Church and the Lorenzo theater.
As the demands for ranch style tract homes began to take place, the birth of redlining also began to take shape. Federal involvement such as the Housing Authority of 1934 and the Gi Bill expanded home ownership to middle class families. However, purchasers of homes in the San Lorenzo valley had to commit to the strict covenants of the San Lorenzo Home-ownership Association. Racial restrictions created by it's developer provided a false American Dream to local Blacks and Hispanics of the community.