On the Scene: Breaking the Code

AROUND the curve of a typical residential cul-de-sac in the largely planned city of Irvine, California, lies something redolent of wilder days: a besieged castle.

The castle is the handiwork of Haym Ganish, a former Israeli who moved his family to Irvine’s Kron Street in 1978. For the last eleven years, the Ganishes have been defending their dream house against assaults by city hall and their neighbors. They are caught between two opposing tendencies in the American spirit: the vision of a country of free landholders and the modern desire for predictable, planned communities.

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Brian Doherty

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AROUND the curve of a typical residential cul-de-sac in the largely planned city of Irvine, California, lies something redolent of wilder days: a besieged castle.

The castle is the handiwork of Haym Ganish, a former Israeli who moved his family to Irvine’s Kron Street in 1978. For the last eleven years, the Ganishes have been defending their dream house against assaults by city hall and their neighbors. They are caught between two opposing tendencies in the American spirit: the vision of a country of free landholders and the modern desire for predictable, planned communities.