Cliff May (1903–1989) was a building designer (he was not licensed as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

until the last year of his life) practicing in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

best known and remembered for developing the suburban

Post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

"dream home" ( California Ranch House), and the

Mid-century Modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

The Ranch-style house

May built Monterey-style furniture as a young man. As a residential/building designer, May designed projects throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, including the regions around

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San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and

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. He is credited with creating the pitched-roof, low-slung California

Ranch-style house Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

in 1932. He had very little training as an architect. May never formally registered for an architectural license, but obtained one in 1988, one year before his death, when California's governor granted licenses to all registered designers in the state. During his career, May designed over a thousand custom residences; numerous commercial structures; and from model house prototypes, more than eighteen thousand tract houses had his imprint. May synthesized

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

with abstracted California adobe ranchos and

Modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

Robert Mondavi Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted label ...

chose May to design his winery in which he incorporated features found in construction of

California Missions The Spanish missions in California () formed a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan ord ...

. In 1932, May's first house sold for $9,500. His work drew attention and the second home he built was featured in

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast ...

in 1934. He continued to build 50 additional houses in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles in 1935. Many of his 1,000+ houses were built in Southern California, however some were built as far away as Switzerland, Australia and Ireland. During the 1940s and 50s, his work was featured in many publications including Architectural Forum, American Home, California arts and Architecture, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Sunset Magazine, Modernism Magazine, Southern California Quarterly, among others. During the 1950s, May, along with colleague Chris Choate, designed prefabricated tract ranch homes which they sold to builders across the US. Many of these prefab tracts like Rancho Estates in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

were popular and resulted in many homes in the tracts being built and sold. Some, particularity those outside of California, were unprofitable and only resulted in the model homes being built. The partnership between May and Choate ended in 1956 with May's departure. May said of his architecture, "The ranch house was everything a California house should be -it had cross-ventilation, the floor was level with the ground, and with its courtyard and the exterior corridor, it was about sunshine and informal outdoor living." The HGTV television show

Flip or Flop ''Flip or Flop'' is an American television series that aired on HGTV, hosted by the formerly-married couple Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall. The program was the original show in the ''Flip or Flop'' franchise, debuting in 2013. On November ...

featured remodels of two Cliff May homes.

Projects

Selected works include: * O'Leary House (1932), San Diego, California * Lindstrom House (1933), San Diego, California, (National Register of Historic Places) * Sheldon Hodge House (1933), San Diego, California, destroyed by gas explosion in the 1970s * Porterfield Beardsley House (1933), San Diego, California, (May's first commissioned house) * Highland House (1934), San Diego, California, (listed on the City of San Diego's Historic Register) * Whalen House (1935), in

Bonita, California Bonita (Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern San Diego County, California, nestled between the cities of Chula Vista, California, Chula Vista, National City, California, National City, and San ...

* Tucker House (1936), in San Diego, California * Hacienda Ranch House (1936), in San Diego, California * Smith House (1936), in La Habra Heights, California * Oakmont House (1939), in Brentwood Park,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

* House Beautiful's Pacesetter House (1947), in Los Angeles, California * Sullivan Canyon Ranches (c.1941-1948), in Los Angeles, California * Prefab House (1951), in

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* Sunset Magazine headquarters (1951), in

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park ( ) is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, California, Eas ...

* Cliff May Experimental House (1952), in Los Angeles, California * Tanglewood House (1952), in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

* Rancho Rinconada (April 1953) present eastern Cupertino, California - Cliff May pre-fab subdivision of "around 900 homes (per May) (built with Stern & Price) * Lakewood Rancho Estates (700+ homes) (1953-1954), in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Strawther, Larry, "A Brief History of Los Alamitos and Rossmoor". p131-135. Pages briefly cover the May-Choate-Ross Cortese partnership on the Lakewood Rancho homes (now called Rancho Estates) in Long Beach and the ensuing Frematic Homes in Anaheim. * Prefab Homes (1954), in

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* Lakewood Prefab Homes (1954), in

Lakewood, Washington Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 63,612 at the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city in the county, behind Tacoma, and is a suburban bedroom community. Lakewood is adjacent to Joint Base ...

* Casa View Oaks Prefab Homes (1954-1955), in

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* Charleston Heights Prefab Homes (1954-1955), in

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* Harvey Park Prefab Homes (1955), in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

* 2 Prefab Homes (1955), in

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* Cherokee Village Prefab Houses (1955), in

Cherokee Village, Arkansas Cherokee Village is a city in Fulton County, Arkansas, Fulton and Sharp County, Arkansas, Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, with a population of 4,780 in 2020 ( ...

* Castle Hills Prefab Homes (1955), in

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* Maywood Hills Prefab Homes (1955), in

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* Fish-Baughman House (1955), in

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, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2016 *Cliff May House "Mandalay" (1955), in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California * Cliff May pre-fab homes (9) in Medford, Oregon. (with J.T. Hight builders) * Cliff May prefab homes - (1956) Santa Maria, California (with builder George Pabst) *Overdale House (1956), in

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*Vientos House (1963), in

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...

*Ocotillo House (1963), in Tucson, Arizona *Oxblow House (1968), in

Solvang, California Solvang (; Danish for "sunny field") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May 1, 1985. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 ...

*Private Residence (1969), in Phoenix, Arizona *Charles House (1973), in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

*El Vuelo House (1973), in

Rancho Santa Fe, California Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential w ...

*Gerald Katell House (1978), in

Rolling Hills, California Rolling Hills is a city on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Rolling Hills is a gated community with private roads with three entry gates. Homes are single-story 19th century California ranch or Span ...

* Cliff May tract-housing (79 units, 1956), Westridge Manor,

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is the only incorporated city in Inyo County, California, United States. It is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley within the Mojave Desert, at an elevation of . The city was named after Bishop Creek ...

(with Marburt Homes, Inc.) *Bell Canyon, California 1970’s Equestrian Center, Community Center, Custom Home. https://pin.it/3Q3jsrA4q

Personal life

May grew up in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. On his mother's side he is related to Jose Antonio Estudillo, one of the founders of San Diego. His father's side of the family held a lifetime lease on the old Los Flores Rancho in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

. May lived in his 10,000 square foot "ultimate ranch house" located on a 15-acre site in one of the canyons in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

near Brentwood. May was a record collector and amateur saxophone player and piano player; his home had a sound system that piped-in music to every indoor and outdoor space. May was also a pilot; he made many trips in his plane to Mexico during his lifetime.

Death

May died in 1989 at the age of 83, at his estate "Mandalay" in Sullivan Canyon in the Brentwood neighborhood of

Legacy

In 2012, the UC Santa Barbara Art, Design & Architecture Museum and the organization Pacific Standard Time mounted a retrospective exhibition, ''Carefree California: Cliff May and the Romance of the Ranch, 1920-1960''. Several books have been published about his work, including the 2008 Rizzoli publication, ''Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House''. An archive of Cliff May's papers, c. 1931–1989, consisting of 350 linear feet of papers, correspondence, clippings, photographs and ephermera is held in the Architecture and Design Collection of the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at the University Santa Barbara.

References

External links

Interview of Cliff May, Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles.
* ''Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House'', Rizzoli, 2008.
Cliff May Home Registry
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Cliff Architects from California 1903 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American architects