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Pamela and John Yaeger enjoy the first-Aoor convenience erf their 1949 ranch home. Americans from New York to California are embracing the architectural style, turning
the Yaegets when they were house-hunting, but as they've
remodeled their house, they've teamed mote about the his
tory and legacy.
Although the first homes built in Levittown were Cape
Cods, by 1949, the ranch craze was sweeping the nation, so
Levitt and Sons introduced The Rancher. Houses sold for
less than SIO,OOO, and included all appliances and a double
fireplace that faced the living room on one side and the
kitchen on the other.
"We got rid of* the fireplace, which allowed us to open
141 the area to a 19-by-20-(foot) great room instead of the
typical Levitt 12-by-12-<fooc) living room," Pamela says.
After re-sheetrockmg the wails and installing new tile,
carpet and flooring, the house "doesn't fed like a Levitt on
the inside." she says. Yaeger notes that of" the 40 houses on
her street, it's near!)’ impossible to tell that any' of them are
the standard Levitt ranch, because many residents have
expanded or remodeled.
"When we first bought the place, 1 didn't think much
of it," she says, "but after sewn years of remodeling, its
grown on me.”
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Jim Brown, publisher of Attmtk Rank, a quarterly maga
zine devoted to ranch houses, says that ranches offer a his
torical context and identity that people can appreciate and
be proud of. it's a bdief, however, that he didn't always hold.
Brown, 56, and his wife, Michelle. 55, each grew up in
ranch houses, but as adults couldn't imagine living in one.
After all, the ranch was the style their parents embraced.
Then five yean ago, Jim, a photographer, began noticing
ranch-style homes more and more. “I wondered what could
be interesting about a ranch and decided to check them
out,” he says. He discovered the advantages to
ranch living, and set out to share that perspec
tive through a new magazine, which launched
in 2004.
The next logical step felt the Browns was to
find their own ranch. They sold their 1920 s
Craftsman bungalow in California and pur
chased a 1952 ranch in Portland, Ore.
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Atomic Ranch Publisher Jim Brown with wife Michelle.
"As a photographer, I have a lot of equipment; it
wasn't easy lugging it up and dow-n three stories in
the bungalow. It's so much easier in this house,” he
says. Brown also loves the spacious windows. "It’s
better for our psychological outlook; seeing all the
trees bloom here in spring and summer has been a
revelation."
According to Brown, moving "back to the ranch" is
both an aesthetic and practical decision for baby boomers.
“For many, the kids have grown up;
they can downsize to a ranch. Also, chey
want to be able to take it easy and enjoy
the yard," he says. “But more than that,
we want to be as vital as we can for as
long as we can, and one way to do that
is to eliminate risks for stupid mistakes,
like falling down the stairs.”
Builder William Levitt
introduced The Rancher
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Yvonne and Al Southwick’s new home in Harrisburg, N.C.
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Real estate agent Leigh Brown, of Charlotte, N.C., says
she can put a ranch house on the market on a Friday and
have an offer by Monday. The houses are particularly popu
lar with a demographic she calls “half backs”—retirees
page 14
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James BrSwn
Randy Plland