If you love history, you'll definitely fall in love with this Queen Anne-style estate which is on the market for $5 million. It is one of the Los Angeles listings that boasts a historic past.
Regarded as an L.A. historic-cultural monument, it is one of the last standing Wilshire Boulevard homes built by famed architect John C. Austin. The famous architect was also the one who designed prime locations such as Shrine Auditorium, City Hall, and the Los Angeles's Griffith Observatory. The remarkable home also known as the Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion was moved to 637 South Lucerne Boulevard, just above Wilshire Boulevard in Windsor Square in 1923. It was made for Chicago grain merchant Hiram Higgins in 1902, Wilshire Boulevard Houses Blog Spot claims.
"...one of the really fine pieces of architectural work that are to be found among the more recent additions to the dwellings of this city. It is a 16-room, two-story combination frame and stone structure, with basement and attic. The house was designed by John C. Austin and erected under his supervision...in [a] style...typical of the Romanesque.... The stonework extends up to the windowsills of the first story in some portions of the building and up to the floor line of the second story in other portions," the site said.
The 11,000-square-foot residence features cantilevered gables and wraparound veranda. Its entry hall has a fireplace and a grand staircase leading to three main floors, Architectural Digest reports. The L.A. home boasts oak banisters, hardwood flooring, and many banquettes.
The first floor has a reception hall, kitchen and pantries, parlor, library, sitting room, rear hall, and dining room. The second floor has three balconies, six bedchambers, and three bathrooms.
It has an attic with three bedrooms, and billiard room. Each bedroom in the first floor is finished in oak while the bedrooms on the upper stories are finished in white pine and enamel. The home's basement is equipped with fuel, storage, and furnace rooms. A nice carriage house with two apartments, fountain, rear yard, motor court and porte cochere are also some of the highlights of the L.A. home.
