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The Westlake District of
Daly City, California Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
, was originally created as one of the first
post-World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...
white-only
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, though for several decades now is as ethnically diverse as the City of
Daly City Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
itself. Located just south of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Westlake in its early years had frequently been compared to
Levittown, New York Levittown is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. It is located halfway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a tota ...
, the first major large-scale postwar
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
white-only housing development in the U.S. After World War II moderate-cost housing began in Daly City as well as in most other Bay Area communities. A San Francisco builder, Henry Doelger, purchased some 600 acres of sand dunes and cabbage patches that occupied much of the land between the original Daly City's westerly edge to the ocean. He built a community called Westlake, which was annexed to Daly City in 1948. Developed by Henry Doelger, Westlake is notable for its monostylistic architecture, created by a core team of designers to encompass nearly every building in the development. For this reason, Westlake has become an icon for architectural blandness, exemplified by its endless rows of boxy houses, which were the inspiration for
Malvina Reynolds Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her songwriting, particularly the songs "Little Boxes", "What Have They Done to the Rain" and "Morningtown ...
folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
"
Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associa ...
," an anti-conformity anthem in the 1960s. Despite its detractors, Westlake has enjoyed considerable publicity over the course of its 60-year history. In the 1950s, the neighborhood's architecturally innovative schools began appearing in national magazines, such as ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', ''
Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownership ...
'', and ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
''. In the 1970s, one national magazine named Westlake one of the ten best suburbs in America. In 2003, the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' ran an article about Henry Doelger and his impact on history, citing Westlake as one of his most iconic neighborhoods.Brown, Patricia Leigh (January 29, 2003).
Praising San Francisco's Champion of Conformity
, ''The New York Times''


References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Chandler, Samuel C. (1973). ''Gateway to the Peninsula, Official History of Daly City, CA.'', Daly City. . *Keil, Rob (2006). '' Little Boxes: The Architecture of a Classic Midcentury Suburb'', Advection Media. .


External links


History of Daly City
Neighborhoods in Daly City, California Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area Populated coastal places in California {{SanMateoCountyCA-geo-stub