Open House Report, Beverly Hills: Does This Look Like A Tear-Down?
Author:Philip FerratoThe realtor doesn’t come right and say “tear me down” but uses coded brokerbabble— “Unique opportunity to create your own estate on over 1/3 acre in prime Beverly Hills…” We can see it in a 21st-Century remake of the noir classic “Sunset Boulevard.” You can go see it before it disappears.
The realtor gives us “the bones are there” and then obligingly decorates the 6-bed, 8-bath house with digital furniture. But we don’t think this house will be standing much past closing. It must have been a swell place when it was built, but now it’s surrounded by mega-mansions under construction as developers build Neo-Classical palaces all over Beverly Hills. That’s probably the fate of this house. Right on Sunset Boulevard and with an alley in the back, the 0.37-acre site is a prime candidate for the kind of house that needs underground parking for ten cars and a high-profile location.
We could foresee some selective demolition (there’s a wing that looks like a doublewide trailer) but otherwise, it’s a classic Hollywood Regency house from 1960— albeit one your grandmother might have referred to as nouveau riche— and basically a stucco box out front with crown molding and all glass in the back. Besides the entry’s huge palm trees, we love the foyer’s travertine floors and wood paneling.
Whether they’re important architecture or the remains of a decorator’s ’60s extravaganza, these houses are disappearing fast in Beverly Hills. Open Sunday, April 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
