The most famous of the three Palm Springs, Calif., residences that belonged to actor Bob Hope and his wife, Delores, will officially hit the market this month for $50M, a tad bit more than the $45M the property was expected to list for when word hit three months ago that the Hopes' kids were looking to sell. Designed by famed modernist John Lautner in 1973 (and completed in 1980), the six-bedroom, 23,366-square-foot home either resembles a mushroom or a volcano, as the New York Times puts it, "with three visorlike arches and an undulating concrete roof, a hole at its center opening a courtyard to the sky."
Noticeably absent from the listing photos are interior shots—as is often the case with properties as storied as this—but the Times offers details about what lurks within those glassy walls: a "boulder jutting into the living room," which was part of Lautner's original plan, plus traces of the Hopes' design decisions, like "a Rousseau-like mural on the back wall of the bar," that eventually caused the architect to bid sayonara (amicably, as it goes) to the project. (In aiming to make the interiors "more livable," Dolores changed the layout so many times that Bob "used to say every time he went away he needed a road map to get back through his house," of their daughters recalls.) Outside: putting greens, a tennis court, a pool, and a pond. Will the distinctive structure, architectural pedigree, and famous former residents be enough to help the Hope residence sell for such an astronomical ask? $50M is undoubtedly high for the area, and Lautner designs, no matter how lovely, don't always go fast. Here's looking at you, modernism-loving movie villain with very, very deep pockets.
· Bob Hope's Lautner-Designed Manse May Soon List For $45M [Curbed National]
· Bob Hope Estate in Palm Springs is For Sale [NYT]
· All John Lautner coverage [Curbed National]
Loading comments...