Cerritos Circle: How a 1963 Duplex Still Reads as Two Homes
A 1963 residence at Cerritos Circle in Long Beach, California, shows how a duplex can feel closer to two compact houses than to a divided block. Designed and developed by Clifton Jones Jr., the single-storey property organizes two mirrored apartments around light, courtyards and direct outdoor access. Julius Shulman photographed this unit in 1964; recent images make it possible to assess how the plan has carried everyday life across six decades.
Two homes share a diagram, not a corridor
The 2,768-square-foot building contains two side-by-side dwellings, each with two bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms. Mirroring reduces planning complexity, but the experience is not dominated by a shared internal hall. Each unit has its own entry courtyard and rear fenced patio, so arrival and outdoor life remain legible at the scale of one household.
Daylight is assigned by time of day
At the centre of each apartment is an open kitchen. East-facing dining areas receive morning light, while west-facing family rooms take the afternoon sun. This simple orientation links routine to exposure: breakfast and daytime eating occupy the cooler early light, while the family space brightens later. Ten-foot ceilings, sliding doors and large glazed walls allow the compact depth of the plan to borrow visual space from the courtyards.
Courtyard edges make the plan feel domestic
The plan’s lasting quality comes less from a single iconic detail than from repeated thresholds. Sliding panels, glass walls and patios allow movement to expand sideways, while bedrooms remain more contained. The two units can operate independently even though their structural and service logic is shared. That balance supports rental or multigenerational use without forcing residents into communal circulation.
What six decades reveal
The residence emerged from Southern California’s mid-century interest in economical structure, open planning and indoor–outdoor living. Jones studied at USC under Edward Killingsworth and Calvin Straub, and the influence of the Case Study House era is visible in the disciplined structure and environmental orientation. The images also expose the maintenance burden that comes with the model: sliding tracks, extensive seals, flat roof edges and timber or metal junctions need consistent renewal if openness is to remain comfortable rather than leaky or difficult to operate.
Credits: Architecture and development by Clifton Jones Jr. Contemporary photography by Sterling Reed Photography. The residence was also documented by Julius Shulman in 1964.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
The documented pressure is to place two complete homes within one 2,768-square-foot, single-storey structure without making either feel like a leftover half. Clifton Jones Jr. answers with mirroring, orientation and separate outdoor thresholds. Each apartment receives two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, an open kitchen at its centre, an east-facing dining area for morning light, a west-facing family room for afternoon light, and its own entry courtyard and rear patio. The result is efficient repetition without institutional circulation: structure and services can be shared, while arrival, daylight and outdoor life remain household-specific. Large glass walls and ten-foot ceilings make the interiors feel more generous, but their value depends on performance rather than appearance. Sliding hardware, seals, solar control and roof drainage must be maintained, and west-facing glazing can bring heat as well as useful afternoon light. Six decades later, the project remains instructive because its flexibility is embedded in an ordinary plan, not in movable spectacle. It can support two households, rental income or extended-family living while preserving a recognizable domestic sequence. The enduring lesson is that density at this scale works best when repetition is paired with separate thresholds and carefully timed light.
