Nestled amidst the rolling hills of Hillsborough, California, lies a unique architectural gem—the Sidney Bazett House. Designed by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939, this home is a masterful expression of the Usonian style, characterized by its emphasis on functionality, affordability, and a seamless connection with nature.
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Preservation and Management
The Bazett House remains one of the most intact Usonian homes in Northern California. It is currently a privately owned residence, and its various owners over the decades have been remarkable stewards of Wright’s vision. Unlike many homes in the high-value Hillsborough area that have been subject to massive “McMansion” expansions, the Bazett House has retained its original scale and footprint.
The home’s preservation is particularly noteworthy given its location on the San Francisco Peninsula. It survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake with minimal damage, thanks in part to Wright’s floating concrete slab design and the flexible nature of the redwood post-and-beam construction. Maintaining the home requires specialized care, particularly for the radiant heating system embedded in the concrete floors and the preservation of the exterior redwood from the coastal California elements.
The Wright-Eichler Connection
While originally built for the Bazett family, the house played a pivotal role in shaping the career of the prominent developer Joseph Eichler. Eichler rented the home during the 1940s while the Bazetts were away during WWII. Living in a Wright-designed space profoundly influenced Eichler, inspiring him to develop and market his own line of modernist homes.
Eichler effectively brought Wright’s “high-art” Usonian principles to the American middle class, creating thousands of “Eichlers” across California. In 2025, we viewed Eichler’s former residence in the Lindenwood neighborhood of Atherton to see these parallels firsthand; you can read about our observations in Discovering the Wright-Eichler Connection in California.
Architectural Style: Hexagon Patterns
The Bazett House is famous for its rigorous adherence to a hexagonal geometric motif. Like the Hanna House (the “Honeycomb House”), the Bazett House avoids 90-degree angles in favor of 120-degree junctions. This geometry is literally etched into the home’s foundation; the red concrete floors feature a scored hexagon pattern that serves as the “unit lines” for the entire structure.
Built using native redwood and brick, the house wraps around a central terrace, blurring the lines between the interior living spaces and the lush California landscape. The “chevron” shapes created by the roofline and floor plan give the home a sense of movement and energy that was revolutionary for the time.
Plan Your Visit
📍Location
The Bazett House is located at 101 Reservoir Road in Hillsborough, California.
🛑Curb-Side Viewing Only
Please be aware that the Sidney Bazett House is a privately owned residence and is not open to the public for tours. We kindly ask that you respect the owners’ privacy and refrain from trespassing on the property.
🧳Make it a Trip
The Bazett House is ideally situated for a day of architectural exploration on the San Francisco Peninsula:
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Eichler Neighborhoods: Drive through the nearby Highlands in San Mateo or Greenmeadow in Palo Alto to see the “Wright-Eichler connection” in action. These neighborhoods feature hundreds of intact mid-century modern homes inspired by Joseph Eichler’s time in the Bazett House.
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Hanna House at Stanford: Located just 20 minutes south, the “Honeycomb House” offers a larger-scale look at Wright’s hexagonal experimentation.
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San Francisco Architecture: Head 30 minutes north to visit Wright’s V.C. Morris Gift Shop (now a men’s clothing shop) on Maiden Lane, featuring a circular interior ramp that foreshadowed the Guggenheim Museum.
🏨Hotels Near Hillsborough
The Bazett House is conveniently located near the San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
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Crowne Plaza San Francisco Airport – An upscale choice with a pool and cafe, providing easy access to Highway 101 and a shuttle to the airport.
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Crowne Plaza Foster City – San Mateo – Located nearby in San Mateo, a great central hub for visiting both Wright and Eichler sites.
Additional Resources and Related Products
Find unique products, books, and gifts inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy at our Amazon storefront: Wright at Home.
- The Wright-Eichler Connection in California (article on this website)
- Eichler’s Atherton Home – article from the Eichler Network website
- Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream by Paul Adamson, Marty Arbunich
- Eichler Homes: Design for Living by Jerry Ditto (Author), Lanning Stern (Author), Marvin Wax (Photographer), Sally B. Woodbridge (Introduction)
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s California Houses (Wright at a Glance Series) by Carla Lind (Author), Frank Lloyd Wright (Designer)
