In 1957, four families based in Portland, Oregon, moved into a village of their own making.
The architect, John Storrs, would go on to become a regional icon, known for warm, natural materials and show-stopping windows. The collection of the four homes became known as the Storrs Quadrant.
How exactly the four couples came together to hatch their home-building plan remains a mystery. As Nicole Possert, executive director at preservation group Restore Oregon, understands it, they all thought it was an ingenious way to build a custom home at a discount.
“The idea was to save money on the architect fee, have all of the homes designed together, and reduce that size of the cost,” Possert told Business Insider.
The homes — one of which recently traded for as much as $1.2 million — are now all owned by different people.
A child of the original owners fondly remembers her early years there.
Anne Lezak, whose father stayed close friends with Storrs, said that, because 12 children grew up across the four homes, the quadrant was always a hotbed of activity.
“All of a sudden, there would be a softball game. You could always find someone to play with,” Lezak, who now lives in Vermont, told Business Insider.
Recently, the four homes were opened up to the public with a one-time Restore Oregon tour that showed off their architectural significance and ties to Storrs’ other work in the Pacific Northwest.
Take a look inside the one-of-a-kind community.