Archive — Cliff May

Cliff May Archive

Cliff May pioneered the California Ranch House — a sprawling, single-story form that merged indoor and outdoor living through wide overhangs, sliding glass, and courtyard-oriented plans. This archive preserves original floor plans, brochures, and marketing materials from his postwar California developments.

16

Archival Documents

1940s–60s

Design Era

California

Primary Region

Cliff May — Original Plans & Brochures

Cliff May Magic Money — Plan No. 2117
Cliff May

Magic Money — Plan No. 2117

700 sq ft ranch house with lanai and two-car detached garage. Copyright Cliff May and Chris Choate, Los Angeles.

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Cliff May Magic Money — Plan No. 3212
Cliff May

Magic Money — Plan No. 3212

1,220 sq ft ranch house with breezeway and one-car attached C-type carport.

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Cliff May Dollar for Dollar — The Brentwood
Cliff May

Dollar for Dollar — The Brentwood

Cliff May Homes advertisement: The Brentwood, 3 bed / 2 bath, 1,372 sq ft. "Dollar for Dollar the finest houses in California."

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Cliff May Ranch Cottage — Good Housekeeping
Cliff May

Ranch Cottage — Good Housekeeping

Cliff May sketch plan prepared for Good Housekeeping Magazine, New York. Full elevations, sections, and wall details.

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Cliff May Model 3212 — Cliff May Homes
Cliff May

Model 3212 — Cliff May Homes

Cliff May Homes brochure page: Model 3212, 1,280 sq ft. Choose from duplex and 7 different models and floor plans.

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Cliff May Model 4212 — Cliff May Homes
Cliff May

Model 4212 — Cliff May Homes

Model 4212, 1,100 sq ft. Four-bedroom plan with bedroom-den and exterior rendering.

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Cliff May Dollar for Dollar — Brentwood (variant)
Cliff May

Dollar for Dollar — Brentwood (variant)

Second printing of the Cliff May Homes Dollar for Dollar advertisement featuring The Brentwood.

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Cliff May The Hacienda — Watercolor Plan
Cliff May

The Hacienda — Watercolor Plan

Hand-rendered watercolor floor plan and elevation for a Cliff May Hacienda design — courtyard, garage, and pool.

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Cliff May Stone House — Interior Elevations, Sheet 5
Cliff May

Stone House — Interior Elevations, Sheet 5

Detailed interior elevation drawings for the David J. Stone House — bathrooms, kitchen, hobby room, pantry, service area, dining room, lanai, and living room. Cliff May, architect.

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Cliff May Stone House — Floor Plan
Cliff May

Stone House — Floor Plan

Full floor plan for the David J. Stone House with interior finish schedule. Cliff May, architect. V-shaped wing configuration with central dining room.

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Cliff May Stone House — Site Plan, Sheet 6
Cliff May

Stone House — Site Plan, Sheet 6

Site plan for the David J. Stone House showing building footprint, pool, garage, and landscape on Larchmont Drive. Cliff May, architect.

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Cliff May Sunset Boulevard — Landscape Plan
Cliff May

Sunset Boulevard — Landscape Plan

Landscape plan for the Cliff May Ranch House on Sunset Boulevard — tennis court, paddock, guest house, and extensive grounds.

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Cliff May Trenchard House — La Jolla
Cliff May

Trenchard House — La Jolla

Watercolor site plan and elevation for the Trenchard House, La Jolla, California. Courtyard hacienda with pool and two-car garage.

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Cliff May Model RM 3215 — Cliff May Homes
Cliff May

Model RM 3215 — Cliff May Homes

Model RM 3215, 1,675 sq ft. Three-bedroom plan with bedroom-den. Cliff May Homes — Burns Realty & Trust Co., exclusive sales agents.

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Cliff May Model RM 3212 — Cliff May Homes
Cliff May

Model RM 3212 — Cliff May Homes

Model RM 3212, 1,221 sq ft. Three-bedroom plan with bedroom-den. Cliff May–Chris Choate design. Choose from 7 models and floor plans.

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Cliff May Smith House — La Habra, California
Cliff May

Smith House — La Habra, California

Watercolor site plan and elevation for the Smith House, La Habra, California. Courtyard hacienda with patio, two-car garage, and landscaped grounds.

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About Cliff May

Father of the California Ranch House

Cliff May (1908–1989) is widely credited as the originator of the California Ranch House — a residential form that defined postwar suburban living across the American West. Working from Los Angeles, May developed hundreds of plans emphasizing horizontal massing, indoor-outdoor flow, and the enclosed courtyard. His collaboration with writer Chris Choate and designer Sunset Magazine brought the Ranch House to a national audience.

About This Archive

Ranch House Plans & Marketing Materials

This archive collects original Cliff May floor plans, sales brochures, and marketing advertisements. Filed under the builder/designer rather than a single architect, these documents represent the commercial Ranch House tradition that ran parallel to — and often intersected with — the Eichler and Anshen & Allen modernist lineage in California.

Researching a Cliff May Property?

Not every document is listed online. If you're researching a Cliff May tract or need a specific plan set, contact us — we may have it in the archive.

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Archive Collection

Explore the Full Archive

Claude Oakland Series

All 15 original plan sets — now live in the archive.

View All 15 Plans

Jones & Emmons Series

All 17 original plan sets — now live in the archive.

View All 17 Plans

Anshen & Allen Series

All 8 original plan sets — now live in the archive.

View All 8 Plans

Neighborhood Plans

All 43 California tract plot plans — now live in the archive.

View All 34 Tracts

Mackay Homes

Original floor plans and brochures from Mackay's California Courtyard communities.

View Mackay Archive

Cliff May

Original Ranch House plans and brochures — the father of the California Ranch.

Current Series

Carter Sparks

Original Streng Bros. floor plans — Sacramento Valley modernist housing from the 1960s and 70s.

View Carter Sparks Archive

Palmer & Krisel

Original Paradise Palms floor plans and elevations — desert mid-century modern housing from Las Vegas, 1959–1963.

View Palmer & Krisel Archive

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Kevin Limprecht  ·  [email protected]  ·  DRE Lic #02233783  ·  Real Broker, LLC
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