By Neal J. Leitereg
Known as the Ruppel House, this lovingly maintained residence in Pasadena was hand-built in 1925 by local builder Fritz Ruppel for his mother, Gertrude. Updated and restored through the years, the home now pairs its handsome beams and wood-burning fireplace with a kitchen modernized for today’s standards. Tilework in one of the two bathrooms is in keeping with the work of celebrated artisan Ernest Batchelder.
Features: Beamed ceilings; Saltillo tile and hardwood floors; French doors; living room with wood-burning fireplace; updated kitchen; master suite with private patio; courtyard; fountain/koi pond.
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Actor Shia LaBeouf has purchased a newly built home in Pasadena for $5.475 million.
Designed to evoke the period revival styles of the early 20th century, the Mediterranean-inspired residence sits on a third of an acre near the Huntington Library. A fountain and terrace sit outside the roughly 4,100-square-foot house, which has arched windows and wrought ironwork. An ornate frontispiece sits above the entry.
Beamed ceilings, hardwood floors and pocketing glass doors are among the details of the four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom house. There are stairs and an elevator for navigating the home’s three floors.
Outside, landscaped grounds feature a sunken patio with built-in benches and a cook station. A large swath of lawn, hedges and mature trees completes the grounds.
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We have some stunning and historically significant homes available and ready for you to explore. Take in the vintage charm of a Glendora estate surrounded by citrus groves or tour a stunning Spanish style home with modern upgrades. Looking to buy in the hip Los Feliz area? We have a modern home with striking views and another Spanish style stunner for you to take in.
A private and dramatically sited modern in the hills of Los Feliz. Walls of glass featuring Fleetwood windows and folding doors superbly frame breathtaking views of downtown’s skyline and beyond. The open-concept living spaces are perfectly equipped for large scale indoor/outdoor entertaining and comfortable daily life.
Local builder and artisan Frederick Ruppel was an expert on the restoration of California’s historic Spanish buildings. According to building biographer Tim Gregory, Ruppel helped rehabilitate the gorgeous Mission San Juan Capistrano and was listed as an “estate construction specialist” for Laguna Beach’s exclusive Emerald Bay community.
In 1925, he built this Spanish Colonial Revival home at 1150 Wotkyns Drive in Pasadenafor his mother, and eventually moved in with his wife. Ruppel, who died in 1977, would have undoubtedly been delighted to see how the residence has been cared for over the past 95 years.
It remains in pristine condition, possessing hallmark features such as a clay roof, cathedral wood-beamed ceilings, Saltillo floors, and period tile attributed to Ernest Batchelder. Original details mix harmoniously with sensitive upgrades, including a “cook’s kitchen” with a farmhouse sink, subway tile, expansive cabinetry, and a double Viking range.
The dramatic living room, anchored by a wood-burning fireplace, opens via French doors to a courtyard and fountain, one of multiple connections to the outdoors. In all, the home measures 1,825 square feet and holds three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
A living slice of California history is now up for sale in Glendora. Known as the Hanley-Pittman Estate, the property in question is located at 437 East Bennett Avenue behind the famous Glendora Bougainvillea, believed to be the largest growth of bougainvillea in the United States. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the tropical vines were imported from South America and planted here by the wife of Glendora citrus rancher Reuben Hamlin sometime between 1900 and 1903.
In 1929, Hamlin sold the approximately eight-acre orange grove bordered by the bougainvillea to another citrus rancher, Ivan Hanley, who added a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style residence in 1931. A decade later, the house and a portion of the ranch was acquired by Lloyd and Doris Pittman, and has been in the hands of the Pittman family ever since.
Now available for the first time on the open market, the 2,176-square-foot home is undeniably in need of some polishing, but it’s easy to envision it becoming a total gem.
Character features include a clay tile roof, peg-and-groove hardwood floors, thick plaster walls, beamed ceilings, wrought iron sconces and railings, a wood-burning fireplace, French doors, casement windows, and vividly colored tile and fixtures.
In addition to the three-bedroom, two-bath house, the 1.11-acre gated property contains a sizable swimming pool, an attached two-car garage, and last but not least, scores of century-old orange and other citrus trees. It’s listed with Matthew Berkley of Deasy Penner Podley at an asking price of $1.149 million.
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