Pasadena estate on sale for a record $48 million
A secluded Pasadena compound on the market for a record ask of $48 million takes resort-style living to the next level.
For starters, the estate has a tiki bar.
The Polynesian-themed El Caribe, created by premiere tiki bar designer and builder “Bamboo” Ben Bassham, is among the rarer features of Knoll House.
Nestled on 2.5 acres of parkland in the shadow of the Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa, it has two structures with a combined seven bedrooms, 18 bathrooms and 32,500 square feet of living space connected by — get this — an underground passageway serviced by two elevators.
The structures include a 1916 Colonial Revival-style mansion designed by Myron Hunt and Gordon Kaufmann, architects of such local landmarks as the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Scripps College in Claremont, respectively.
Within the 12,300-square-foot residence are six-bedroom suites with remodeled bathrooms, a 2,500-bottle wine cellar and a pub that boasts art glass windows and the original bar.
The entry hall boasts Italian marble floors.
There are restored original herringbone tongue-in-groove floors, a marble surround fireplace in the living room and a wood-panel library with a secluded bar.
The current owner opened up multiple rooms to create a large kitchen and family room, which, like the bathrooms, was part of a seven-year project to restore the property’s historic integrity. But it also was updated to include modern conveniences like a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in pantry in the butler’s pantry.
Many features
Near the resort-size pool and spa, a large pavilion features a full kitchen with a pizza oven and living and dining areas.
A children’s play structure is another perk.
The estate’s other structure is a 20,500-square-foot entertainment gallery building with a 38-foot-high center atrium and skylight that date to 1973.
Originally, the gallery was designed by Norton Simon Museum architects Thornton Ladd and John Kelsey to house the art collection of the museum’s major supporter Virginia Steele Scott, the home’s one-time owner.
Scott dubbed the property Knoll House.
The former art gallery now
features an arcade and pool hall, poker room and 45-seat, state-of-the-art movie theater that cost more than $1 million to create. And it’s also where you’ll find El Caribe.
Decorated with carved faces and totems, torch and shell-encrusted lighting and bamboo walls, it boasts plenty of seating with enough room for three bartenders to mix up cocktails garnished with paper umbrellas from behind the bar.
“You can shut the doors and completely escape,” Bassham said on the video tour. “Instead of getting on an airplane and flying to Hawaii, you’re just chilling in your own tiki bar.”
Carol Chua and Darrell Done of Coldwell Banker Realty share the listing.
According to the Multiple Listing Service, the compound is the most expensive house for sale in Pasadena.
It last sold in 2011 for $7.294 million, property records show.