Dean Arthur Vickery

Dean A. Vickery was born in Kansas on April 26, 1931, to Glen A. Vickery and Diana F. Vickery. By 1934, the Vickery family was living in Casper, Wyoming – and in Denver in 1940. By 1950, the family had moved from Glendale (where they established themselves around 1946) to 5482 Adams Avenue. Dean graduated from Hoover High School in 1950 and married fellow Hoover alum Orva Stack in 1951.

In 1958, Dean was working for Christie Construction Company. By 1960, he had designed a spec house in Del Cerro at 5991 Madra Avenue – at the same time he finished his own home on nearby Elmhurst Drive. The house on Madra would be the only project he would build on speculation as it took over a year to sell it. Through showing the spec house he met a number of clients that wanted contemporary homes – just not the one they were touring.

Through the 1960s and '70s, Dean A. Vickery Construction Company designed and built a number of projects including private homes in Mt. Helix and the Green Valley community of northern Poway.

In partnership with Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, Mr. Vickery was the developer, owner, contractor and manager of Lake Park Apartments, a 506-unit apartment development in La Mesa. Lake Park Apartments was the recipient of numerous industry awards including honors through A.I.A. and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

According to Mr. Vickery, he built over 100 homes, and at one point had 34 projects under construction simultaneously. His method started at the County Assessor’s office creating a unique list of all the vacant lots in the County. As he secured a new client hoping to build a custom home, Dean would show them prospective lots to build on. Not serving as a broker, the client would then be obligated to secure the purchase of the lot on their own and return to Vickery to design the home. Client and designer would then sit down together and record an interview outlining goals for their new home. Vickery would then sit down at his drafting table with the tape running. Many of these designs would yield wood-shake-roofed ranch homes with deep overhangs.

Partial List of Projects

Apartment Building (1969)
13312 Community Road, Poway
*Partnership of Vickery-Olaf Ltd.; attribution via 1969 San Diego Union article

Daluiso Residence (1967)
4946 New Ranch Road, El Cajon

El Valle Apartments (1969-70)
451 Ballanytne Street, El Cajon
*Attribution via 1969 San Diego Union article

Green Valley Estates House (1968)
13618 Sagewood Drive, Poway
*Attribution via 1968 real estate listing

Green Valley Estates House (1967)
16350 Woodson View Road, Poway
*Attribution via 1967 real estate listing

Gustafson Residence (1968)
Location not known
*Attribution via 1968 San Diego Union article

Lake Park Apartments (ca. 1971)
5700 Baltimore Drive, San Carlos
*Attribution via 9/19/71 San Diego Union article

La Privada Apartments (1967-68)
13240 Community Road, Poway
*Attribution via 1968 San Diego Union article

Macnof Residence (1967)
10000 Pandora Drive, Mt. Helix
*Designed by Barton J. Kauffman. Dean Vickery served as the General Contractor.

Merritt, Bill Residence (1965)
6467 Elmhurst Drive, Del Cerro

Private Residence (1962)
6430 Elmhurst Drive, Del Cerro

Private Residence (1967)
16623 Orchard Bend Road, Poway
*Attribution via 1967 real estate listing

Private Residence (1968)
16672 Martincoit Road, Poway
*Attribution via 1968 real estate listing

Private Residence (1970)
5915 Madra Avenue, Del Cerro
*Attribution via 1968 San Diego Union article

Spec House (1960)
5991 Madra Avenue, Del Cerro

Vickery, Mr. & Mrs. Dean A. Residence
6331 Elmhurst Drive, Del Cerro
*Attribution via 1963 San Diego Union article

Stock, Ron Residence (1967)
16285 Oak Creek Trails, Poway

Vickery, Dean & Orva Residence (1960)
6331 Elmhurst Drive