Hope estate saga awaits punchline
The Bob and Dolores Hope estate in Toluca Lake is now priced at $12 million — nearly half the previous $23 million asking price — and $15.5 million less than what it came on the market for in 2013.
The English Traditionalstyle house was designed by Robert Finkelhor and built for the Hopes in 1939. In the mid-1950s, Hollywood Regency-style architect John Elgin Woolf was commissioned to remodel and update the home.
Hidden from the street behind fences and privacy hedges, the compound centers on a 14,876-squarefoot main house with grand formal areas, a billiards room, a library and five bedrooms, including a master wing.
Other structures include a two-bedroom guesthouse and separate staff quarters and offices. There are eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
Two floors of living space take in views of landscaped grounds containing a swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, mature trees, rose gardens and a large expanse of grass. An indoor swimming pool and spa sit adjacent to the guesthouse.
The price adjustment is similar to the steep cut that the Bob and Dolores Hope estate in Palm Springs saw in December. The John Lautner-designed estate on 6.2 acres in Coachella Valley was reduced in price to $24.999 million — less than half the $50 million originally asked.
Bob Hope, who died in 2003 at age 100, had a prolific career as a comic actor, singer and dancer, appearing in scores of films that included the “Road” series with Bing Crosby. He won five honorary Academy Awards and one humanitarian award. His wife, Dolores, died four years ago at 102.
Craig Strong of John Aaroe Group is the listing agent.