The Electri-Living Home for Tomorrow

Originally built as a high-tech demonstration house in 1958, the Electri-Living Home for Tomorrow has been lovingly restored over the last decade. The San Diego home recently hit the market for $1.6 million.

Akin to the widely celebrated Arts & Architecture's Case Study House program and Concrete Industry Horizon Homes – the Electri-Living Home series of spec homes around the U.S. were designed by contemporary architects and welcomed thousands of visitors. During these receptions, the public was invited to witness the leading-edge in home design, technologies and furnishings under the umbrella of post-War progressive ideals.

Electri-Living Homes played a key role in displaying the latest electrical technologies of their time. Westinghouse and General Electric partnered with developers and architects to design and build a dozen model homes across the country to serve as public platforms for introducing home buyers to dimmer switches, thermostats, electric kitchen appliances and much more. These homes would be held open to the public for weeks following completion so partnering vendors could leverage their integral role in making the future come alive. Each of 12 houses was given a budget of $18,000 exclusive of the property costs. The program had three guidelines: to satisfy the emotional and special needs of an average young couple with two to four children, to accommodate the full electrical load of household appliances now on the market with allowances for additional equipment in the future, and to be adaptable to the builder house market.

San Diego's Electri-Living Home was designed by the architecture firm Paderewski, Mitchell & Dean and built by local developer Jackson & Scott in 1957-58. Partnering firms for the project were San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Walter Broderick & Associates (Interiors), General Electric (providing a complete built-in kitchen), Living for Young Homemakers Magazine, and University Heating & Air Conditioning Co.

"The style of the house is an exciting modern design and it is fully equipped with the latest modern power devices and appliances ranging from a heat pump to an electric can opener. The builders have gone beyond the push-button stage in creating this house because so much of the equipment is fully automatic, requiring little or no attention. All of the accessories contribute to the ease of modern living. The era of gadget push buttons has converted into a demonstration of practical modern living ease in a new home...,” according to press accounts at the opening.

Featured nationally in Living for Young Homemakers Magazine as "the perfect marriage of site and house” that “hugs the ground while holding its head high in the air," upon its completion thousands of people from all over Southern California lined-up to tour the home before it was sold to its first owner.

The “exciting modern design…fully equipped with the latest modern power devices and appliances” was the result of partners San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Walter Broderick & Associates (Interiors), General Electric (providing a complete built-in kitchen), Living for Young Homemakers Magazine, and University Heating & Air Conditioning Co. “The builders have gone beyond the push-button stage in creating this house because so much of the equipment is fully automatic, requiring little or no attention. All of the accessories contribute to the ease of modern living.”

Located in San Diego’s Del Cerro neighborhood, this 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home of 1,821 square feet is walking distance to retail shopping/services and freeway access. Offering a unique siting, and an ideal floorplan for indoor-outdoor living, the Electri-Living Home is set for decades of enjoyment ahead. Listed for $1,599,999.