Southern California

The Classicist: Los Angeles' Finest Classic Estates

Filed under: Estates, Books, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

With asking prices running to the tens of millions on the rare occasions when such treasures hit the market, owning one of the classic estates of Los Angeles remains but a dream for many. Meanwhile Douglas Woods offers the next best thing in his new stunning new book Classic Homes of Los Angeles from Rizzoli, an exclusive look into some of the finest period revival residences and gardens to be found in and around the area's legendary neighborhoods. The volume's 240 full-color photographs by Melba Levick depict a panorama of richly detailed architectural styles popular in Southern California during its "Golden Age of Expansion" from 1899 to 1938, from Craftsman, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian to Spanish Colonial and Tuscan Revival. Famous landmarks are included as well as many never-before-seen gems.

The cover of the book (above) shows the Prindle House in Pasadena built by architect George Washington Smith in 1926, a pristine example of Spanish Colonial Revival style. Also included are the 1899 Doheny Mansion with its incredible glass-domed Pompeian Room, now part of Mount Saint Mary's College; the stately Huntington Mansion with its palatial great hall, now the Huntington Library museum; the estate of the great Hollywood producer and director Cecil B. DeMille which was recently listed for sale at $18 million; the elegant 1932 Fudger House in Beverly Hills where Danny Kaye lived and entertained for many years; and Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Millard House, aka La Miniatura, from 1923 in Pasadena which was our Estate of the Day in February 2009.

In his introduction to the book, author and architecture expert D.J. Waldie poses the question, "What makes a classic home of Los Angeles?" The answer, he writes, is one that "sympathetically embraces the fundamentals of life here: light, air, landscape and romance." To achieve these qualities, "architects and their clients in the first half of the twentieth century turned to various pasts that were not their own," he notes, "but without turning away from the future they thought Los Angeles represented." For the most part, Waldie writes, "they declined to engage in the culture wars of Modernism (although many great Modernist homes are part of the city's architectural heritage). Some Angeleños thought houses had other, more consoling work to do. A house that can dream for and with its owners, that can dream of both escape and shelter, makes it a classic of Los Angeles." Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: Classic Homes of Los Angeles

Petitfils-Boos House, Hancock Park, 1921

Tags: architecture, Beverly Hills, books, California, Cecil B. DeMille, celebrity real estate, coffee table books, Doheny Mansion, estates, Frank Lloyd Wright, gardens, historic houses, Huntington Library, Los Angeles, movies, Pasadena, real estate, Rizzoli, Southern California, The Classicist

Targa Trophy Supercar Rally Kicks Off This Summer

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

The Targa Trophy triple-crown series of open road rallies featuring some of the most exotic cars in the world will kick off later this month with high-octane events slated for Southern California, Northern California and Arizona. The series pits drivers against the clock in an effort to drive pre-selected routes through some of the most technical driving roads and scenic byways in the western United States. The first leg – the So Cal Challenge - runs from Hollywood to San Diego, the second event – the Bay Area Rally Fest - takes participants through Silicon Valley and West San Francisco, and the Desert Finale runs through the Arizona desert to Scottsdale. Each two-day event will start with an exclusive private party at the host city's W Hotel.

As the participants make their way to the finish there will be a series of checkpoints and movie screenings culminating in the finale dinner and awards ceremony. HRE Performance Wheels, which designs, engineers and manufactures forged alloy wheels for the world's finest cars in their San Diego facility, has signed on "Official Wheel" of this year's competition. HRE will craft a unique forged aluminum trophy for the rally winner and provide prizes to other top placing drivers as well. The grand prize for the "Triple Crown" winner will be a custom-made set of forged HRE wheels made for the winning vehicle. The So Cal Challenge kicks of on June 25; the deadline to sign up is June 22.

Tags: Arizona, California, Hollywood, rally, San Diego, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Southern California, supercars, Targa Trophy, W Hotel

The Strand, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home is a bit of 1980s decadence on The Strand in Manhattan Beach, California. The oceanfront home was completed in 1988 and designed by Ray Kappe. The listing states that Kappe was commissioned by a Hollywood studio owner to design this as his second home. Kappe is a living legend in Los Angeles architecture.

Like all the pricey homes along The Strand, this home has expansive views of the ocean, letting your swivel your head and span the coastline from Malibu to the Palos Verdes peninsula. The home itself is firmly rooted in the past but offers three bedrooms and a large open floor plan. The home has a rooftop deck and pool. The home combines curving shapes and Art Deco influences with a fair touch of industrialism. It's got a bit of an anonymous hotel quality but you can't beat the view (even if it does lack privacy). It's listed at $16 million.

Gallery: The Strand

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Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, los angeles, LosAngeles, manhattan beach, ManhattanBeach, southern california, SouthernCalifornia, the strand, TheStrand

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Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa Up For Sale, May Close

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Could we be seeing another Southern California hotel in trouble? The LA Times is reporting that the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa, which re-opened last November under the Borrego Ranch name after a major renovation, might be closing down. Officials at the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro Golf & Social Club have told employees the hotel could shut down as early as November 30. There is still a chance that the project may find additional investors or new funding and stay afloat. The LA Times quotes Sasha Itzikman, senior vice president for Borrego Ranch who says the company is looking for investors but is also open to a full sale. The Borrego Springs area in San Diego County has tried to style itself as a resort community similar to Palm Springs.

For now the resort remains open. It has 44 rooms and 19 casitas. The casitas range in size from one to four bedrooms and most have a wood-burning fireplace and private pool or spa and all include a wet bar, compact refrigerator and microwave. The spa offers massage, skin care, hair care, manicures and pedicures. The resort has an impressive amount of activities to keep you busy from golf and tennis to fitness classes, hikes, swimming and bicycle and horseback riding. There is also life-size chess, shuffleboard, bocce ball, a putting green, an archery range and championship croquet courses. The resort is currently offering the Borrego Ranch Experience starting at $295 per person, per night (2 night minimum, double occupancy required) which includes accommodations, a spa treatment of golf and all meals (excluding room service or alcohol).

Gallery: Hotels In Transition

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Tags: borrego ranch resort, borrego springs, BorregoRanchResort, BorregoSprings, hotels in trouble, HotelsInTrouble, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

Northern Exposure At Big Bear Lake, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

It's tempting to think of Southern California as simply a land of sunshine and warm weather but venture a couple of hours inland from the coast and you find real seasons. Today's home is an expansive log cabin retreat in Big Bear Lake, California, a four season getaway for Southern California in the San Bernardino mountains at an elevation of about 7100 feet. As you can see in the listing pictures, this home gets seasonal weather including a picturesque coating of snow.

The beautiful lakefront home was built in 2000 and has four bedrooms. The great room faces the lake with a wall of windows and a large stone fireplace. The vacation destination includes a putting green, an outdoor fire pit with a barbecue and a long dock which has a ChrisCraft boat which is included in the purchase price. This home is listed at $2.095 million. Many more pictures are available at the property website.
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Gallery: Northern Exposure on Big Bear Lake

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Tags: big bear lake, BigBearLake, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

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Barry Manilow in Malibu, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The Real Estalker revealed yesterday that a Malibu beach house belonging to Barry Manilow has hit the market. The four-bedroom home is a blocky contemporary with a matching one-bedroom guest house on the oceanfront. The most impressive part of this home is the two-story living room with big glass windows to exploit the ocean view. The Real Estalker reports that the home has already had a price cut from $12.6 million to $10.9 million but Manilow paid $3.85 million in 2002 so there is likely room for further price cuts here and it may need them.

The Real Estalker's commenters have been involved in some sharp discussion about the location and whether or not this is the most desirable place to have beachfront property in Malibu. The home is certainly bulwarked with an impressive amount of concrete to keep the sea at bay and there is not a lot of strolling beach available below the home. The home and the guest house are separated by a flagstone courtyard.

One of the Real Estalker's commenters posted the link for the virtual tour of the home so we've got some interior pictures. The home includes a media room, at least one office (another bedroom seems to be serving as an office as well) and a master suite with a fireplace and a bathroom that includes a spa tub set right against the window for a soak with a sunset view. The home is positioned cheek by jowl with other homes so you don't get much privacy with this one.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Malibu Road

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Tags: barry manilow, BarryManilow, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, malibu, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

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Terranea Resort Gets City-Sponsored Bailout

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Given the hard times facing the travel industry I'm surprised that more resorts haven't asked for a little help. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California recently got what amounts to an $8 million loan from the city by allowing Lowe Enterprises to defer payment of its hotel tax for several years.

We first heard about this resort way back in 2005. The lavish compound located on the spot of the old Marineland of the Pacific oceanarium will open later this month with three restaurants, a nine-hole golf course, a 360-room hotel and 20 bungalows. The complex also includes some pretty expensive real estate, 82 casitas and villas that range in price from $2 million to $4 million.

Terranea will be allowed to keep the 10 percent hotel tax customers pay in a deal that will allow the resort to receive $8 million or collect the taxes for 27 months, whichever comes first. The loan will be repaid by 2013 at the London interbank offered rate plus 8 percentage points. The city council made its decision Wednesday morning at a special meeting. Robert Lowe, chairman and chief executive of Lowe Enterprises, says that once the resort is up and running at full strength in a couple of years it should provide the city with $7 million to $8 million in taxes every year.

This isn't the first time we've seen a city step in to help a hotel in trouble, Portland, Oregon's Portland Development Commission agreed to accept delayed payments on taxpayer-funded loans to keep the developer of the Nines Hotel from defaulting on loans. The developer is still planning to repay its $16.9 million in city loans at the original interest rates once The Nines' business improves. The current expectation is that loan payments should start up again in 2011 if the economy improves along the current predicted trajectory.

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Tags: rancho palos verdes, RanchoPalosVerdes, southern california, SouthernCalifornia, terranea

New Slopeside Residences at Mammoth

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

With Southern California set for another storm it seems like ski season will last a bit longer. For those who get their winter jollies at Mammoth there is another new real estate option. Altis IV is one of the last slopeslide, ski-in/ski-out spots on Mammoth Mountain. Altis residences are located on a three plus acre site adjacent to Mammoth's Bridges Run. Each unit has two master bedrooms, a guest room with sitting area, four- and-a-half baths, and a media/entertainment room and is set into the slope for maximum view on all three levels.

The property is being built with an eye toward becoming LEED Silver certified by summer. Green features include using renewable wood and kitchen cabinets created from Forest Stewardship Council materials. There are just 24 homes and each is under 3,000 square feet. An additional amenity building includes a fitness center, owner's lounge and lobby. The residences are priced from the low $2 millions.

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Tags: altis, mammoth, real estate, RealEstate, skiing, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

Southern California's Resort at Pelican Hill

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

Other than Tiger Woods's much-awaited return to the PGA Tour this week, there's been little good news in the golf world of late. Iconic destinations such as Sea Island Resorts and The Greenbrier have been undergoing well-documented struggles in the failing economy. A rare bright spot is the recent opening of the Resort at Pelican Hill, a spectacular cliff-side property in Southern California.

The 500-acre resort in Newport Coast, about an hour south of L.A., is designed in the style of an old Italian hill town. Terracotta-roofed villas and bungalows are terraced into the slopes high above the Pacific, shaded by imported olive trees. The bungalows feature limestone fireplaces, hand-hewn wood-beam ceilings and private terraces. Even more lavish are the two-, three- and four-bedroom villas that are as large as 3,000 square feet and situated in a gated enclave. Villa guests can avail themselves of butler service and access to a private clubhouse and pool. Refreshingly, this is purely a vacationer's resort--there are no home sites for sale.

The golf at Pelican Hill predates the now-encompassing resort by a decade and a half. It consists of two eighteen-hole Tom Fazio layouts that overlook the ocean. Originally designed in the early '90s--and sometimes criticized for failing to make the most of the natural setting--they were renovated by the architect two years ago to improve playability and better expose the seaside views.

Gallery: Southern California's Resort at Pelican Hill

Tags: golf, Newport Coast, Pelican Hill, PelicanHill, Southern California, SouthernCalifornia, Tom Fazio

Borrego Ranch Resort and Spa

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas, Real Estate Developments

The Southern California desert region is getting a new spa resort. Joseph DeNucci, former COO of the Miraval resort, is behind the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa, which will open in November 2008. The $50 million resort is located in the Anza-Borrego Desert of Southern California and will offer a custom experience on 42 acres that includes a $25 million Tom Fazio-designed Signature Golf Course and Montesoro, a second home community. Borrego Ranch is located in Borrego Springs, 80 miles from San Diego and 150 miles from Los Angeles.

The ranch will feature 19 private casitas and 44 poolside rooms each with a service bar, sitting area with fireplace, marble bath with Cactus Tea bath amenities, coffee maker and private patio or balcony. The casitas range in size from one to four bedrooms and most have a wood-burning fireplace and private pool or spa and all include a wet bar, compact refrigerator and microwave. The spa offers massage, skin care, hair care, manicures and pedicures. The resort has an impressive amount of activities to keep you busy from golf and tennis to fitness classes, hikes, swimming and bicycle and horseback riding. There is also life-size chess, shuffleboard, bocce ball, a putting green, an archery range and championship croquet courses. Instead of being stuck to a strict spa schedule, guests can choose what interests them whether it's a romp through the desert or just some poolside time with a good book. Rates start around $300 per night.

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Tags: borrego, desert, golf, montesoro, resort, southern california, SouthernCalifornia, spa, vacation

Another Big Southern California Real Estate Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Real Estate Developments

Last week , I mentioned a condo auction in Anaheim, California now here comes another Southern California auction. On August 24 at the Hilton Long Beach, 39 condos at West Ocean Two ill be auctioned by Citi Property Investors as part of the tower's grand opening. The condos on Ocean Boulevard in downtown Long Beach are located in a high-rise that includes a large lobby, concierge service, exercise studio, swimming pool, media/club room, wine storage room, game room, guest suite, outdoor entertaining area and more. The starting bid for nine one-bedroom residences will be $275,000, the 25 two-bedrooms will have a $350,000 starting bid, and five three-bedrooms will start at $795,000. As Curbed LA reveals, condo documentation for the auction says that the one bedrooms were previously listed at $534,000 which seem fairly inflated.

[via Long Beach Press-Telegram]

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Tags: condo auction, condos, long beach, LongBeach, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

Cape Cod Style in Carpinteria, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home has East Coast style with the luxury of West Coast weather. This compound is located in a colony of beach homes on Sand Point Road in the coastal community of Carpinteria, California. The five-bedroom estate includes both a main house and a guest house. The design takes the traditional Cape Cod style and lightens and brightens it with an exterior of bleached cedar shingles and an interior of large windows and white beams. The home is practically perfect (maybe the media room is a bit off but other than that, wow). Because it is Carpinteria though you'll pay through the nose for a home like this. It's listed at $32.5 million and doesn't even seem to have a pool.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Gallery: Cape Cod in Carpinteria

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Tags: california, carpinteria, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, southern california, SouthernCalifornia

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Palisades Teardown, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home is a bit of old Hollywood tradition in Pacific Palisades, California. The home is now on Amalfi Drive but was built in 1924 with an address on Haldeman Road. At that time, the Uplifters Club owned Rustic Canyon where several members built homes. It is said that the home was designed by architect William Dodd, an Uplifters Club member who designed what is now the Rustic Canyon Recreation Center. The home was later bought by Hal Roach Studios, and became a Hollywood hangout for some of Hollywood's early big stars such as Harold Lloyd, Jean Harlow and Will Rogers. It was reputedly occupied by Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy during his divorces. The home is, as the listing admits, in need of a lot of work but it has, as they say, lovely bones. The property website says "restoration or wrecking ball?" Restoration, please! This home is listed at $5 million.

Gallery: Palisades Teardown

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Tags: estate of the day, luxury real estate, pacific palisades, PacificPalisades, southern california

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Middle Ranch, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The lure of this one is all about the land, prime Southern California real estate. Middle Ranch was formerly Cecil B. DeMille's Paradise Ranch in Los Angeles and is now an equestrian park with lodge and club facilities that include a pool, tennis court and a commercial kitchen. The 119 acres also includes 200 concrete block stalls which are leased out, eight arena, a grass grand Prix field, horse trails, pastures and turnouts. The land also includes parcels of land earmarked for residential development. It is listed at $11.95 million. There are also an additional 185 acres available which can be used for residential development and which includes a pueblo-style home. The pictures on this one aren't great but like the Robert Taylor ranch, this land is a piece of the Los Angeles that used to be.

Gallery: Middle Ranch

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Tags: cecil b demille, estate of the day, los angeles, middle ranch, MiddleRanch, southern california

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Win A Southern California House For $200

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Charity

The Irvine Public Schools Foundation in California has announced their annual house raffle two months early so holiday shoppers can buy their gift list a chance to win a house and other valuable prizes. For $200 you have a chance to win two 2006 MINI Coopers, ten cash prizes, from $25,000 to $2,500, other prizes including jewelry, vacation packages and gift certificates. The big prize is a new $600,000 John Laing Homes townhome in the Village of Woodbury in Irvine, California. The home is a 1,706 square-foot, 2-story townhome with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a 2-car attached garage. The raffle raises funds for the Irvine Unified School District. No more than 20,000 tickets will be sold.

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Tags: irvine, raffle, real estate, RealEstate, southern california

Southern California

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