The not-so-secret past of a Roaring ’20s estate
This Spanish Colonial Revival estate in La Cañada Flintridge bears a distinctive sign of its times.
Constructed during the Prohibition era, when the manufacture and sale of alcohol was outlawed, the 1924 home was designed with a hidden passageway and concealed liquor storage. Slang terms such as “juice joint,” “hair of the dog” and “zozzled” were part of the lexicon of the day.
Set at the base of the Angeles National Forest, the estate occupies 1.64 acres of flat land once owned by former U.S. Sen. Frank Putnam Flint, for whom the city is partially named.
The 9,300-square-foot villa combines Italian and Spanish details in keeping with the romantic architecture popular in 1920s California. It was designed by architect and military man Henry Carlton Newton, who is also credited with many area churches.
What appears to be a closet door in a powder room opens to a secret staircase that leads to one of two separate basements. The stairway could fold up, so if a curious guest opened the closet door, all they would see was a wall.
In the basement, one entire wall is actually a hidden door that masks a walk-in storage closet.
The home’s vintage charm blends readily with more recent updates. The modernized kitchen, for example, features the original Batchelder tiles. The grand living room centers on a baronial fireplace. High ceilings, floor-toceiling windows and French doors bring a bright, airy feel to the nearly 9,400 square feet of space.
An updated grand master suite includes two walk-in closets, a spacious shower stall and a soaking tub for a total of six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Patios, a flower-lined swimming pool and landscaping complete the grounds.
The property, at 887 Flintridge Ave. in La Cañada Flintridge, is listed for $6.195 million by Rochelle Maize and Alexander Masket of Nourmand & Associates.