An LA abode with a star-studded history is now available for a discount. Farralone, Frank Sinatra’s midcentury modern dwelling, is up for grabs for the low price for $8.99 million, according to the New York Post. It marks a significant cut from its 2021 asking price of $21.5 million. Per the Post, Sinatra called the estate home for eight years.
Built on a mountaintop that oversees the San Fernando Valley, Chase Bank heiress and New York socialite Dora Hutchinson owned the estate during its Golden Age heyday, allowing other famous figures—including Lucille Ball—to use it as a crash pad over the years. It earned its reputation as a party house through hosting the likes of Paul McCartney, who blessed guests’ ears on the piano at soirées, as well as events like celebrity poker games and Rat Pack gatherings. More than 500 film and TV production companies have used the property for flicks like Mad Men, Dreamgirls, and Bewitched.
Legend has it that the residence was also the site of one particularly well-known, though clandestine, happening; a guesthouse on the property, which is also up for grabs separately, is said to have been a rendezvous point for Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy during their alleged affair.
William Pereira, the architect behind the CBS TV studios in LA, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and the LA County Museum of Art, built the 6,661-square-foot home between 1949 and 1951, with a young Frank Gehry apprenticing. Also known as Byrdview, it’s complete with four bedrooms and six full bathrooms.
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Multiple large parlors—one featuring its original zebra cork flooring—can be found within the home. It features a formal dining room, an eat-in chef’s kitchen, multiple fireplaces, and a large primary bedroom suite. The abode shares a name with its street, Farralone, but it’s also thought to be a portmanteau for “far” and “alone.” Sitting on just over four acres of land, the property is located behind gates and rests at the end of a mile-long driveway.
The listing is held by Jeff Biebuyck and Dana Olmes of Frontgate Real Estate.
