Little Boxes, The Architecture of a Classic Mid Century Suburb. By Rob Keil. 2006, hardcover. 143 pages.

Features over 100 color and b&w photos, floor plans, maps and vintage ads.

Little Boxes is the story of the Westlake District of Daly City, Ca. A suburb located south of San Francisco. It has been compared to Levittown NY, one of the first major postwar suburbs in the USA.

Westlake was developed by Henry Doelger, America's largest home builder at the time. He constructed much of San Francisco's Sunset district. He was an interesting guy, he wore a different toupee each day, had pet monkeys and built a swimming pool in his living room!

Westlake was a meticulously planned "city within a city" which included houses of different sizes, apartments, schools, shopping centers, offices, medical facilities, churches and parks.

Chester Dolphin was the architect and Ed Hageman was the architectural designer behind the design of Westlake. They designed several dozen basic floor plans to create varying house styles at a low cost post-war families could afford.

The schools were designed by architect Mario Ciampi. They won many awards from the AIA and were featured in Life magazine.

LITTLE BOXES by Rob Keil (2006)