Eichler Neighborhood – Marinwood / Lower Lucas Valley

Just down the street from San Rafael's Upper Lucas Valley Eichler neighborhood that I recently profiled is Marinwood – aka Lower Lucas Valley - one of the six neighborhoods Joseph Eichler developed in Marin County. In fact, Marin is the only North Bay county where Joseph Eichler built his iconic California Modern style homes, and more than 800 of them can be found in Marinwood (Lower Lucas Valley) and nearby Upper Lucas Valley.

The first Lucas Valley community that Eichler developed is Marinwood, also referred to as Lower Lucas Valley. The 375 Eichler homes in Marinwood were built in 1957-58 and were designed by two of Eichler’s favorite architect teams – Jones & Emmons and Anshen + Allen. All the Marinwood Eichlers are 3 or 4-bedroom homes in 5 different floor plans. Marinwood is sometimes referred to as The Berries because all the street names end with the word “berry”: Appleberry, Flaxberry, Greenberry, Huckleberry, Danberry, Cedarberry, Blackberry, Idylberry…  You get the idea!

The Berries is a great neighborhood for families with lots of fun-filled activities for young and old throughout the year. The Community Center is the hub for summer day camps, adult and teen classes, community events, and swimming (Marinwood has its own swim team, the Marinwood Waterdevils.) There are also four community tennis courts and three public parks in Marinwood.

Marinwood is in the sought after Dixie School District. Elementary school children (grades K-5) attend award-winning Dixie Elementary School and middle-schoolers go to Miller Creek Middle School. The private Marin Waldorf School is also in Lower Lucas Valley.