Though you wouldn't know it from its listing, this four-bedroom house near Cal Tech in Pasadena has a rather illustrious pedigree and a pretty cool backstory, which we discovered thanks to a post over on the Lotta Living message boards. Built in 1936, it was one of a trio of adjacent houses designed by Erle Webster and Adrian Wilson, the architecture team behind Palm Springs' landmark "Ship of the Desert." Webster and Wilson were commissioned to build the homes, which featured a shared backyard with a joint badminton court, by three Cal Tech academic couples who sound like the 1930s counterparts to Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, and the rest of the "Friends" gang. The compound of houses was featured in the August 1936 issue of California Arts and Architecture, and this particular one, built for geology professor Ian Campbell and his wife, Kitty, appeared on the cover of Sunset magazine in February of 1938. The Lotta Living poster, Steven Keylon, describes the Campbell residence as "rather intact, though will need restoration." Asking price for the property, which sits on an 8,686-square-foot lot, is $725,000; whether that still includes a badminton court is unclear.
· Pasadena, CA - Webster and Wilson, 1936 - Campbell Residence [Lotta Living]
· 405 S BONNIE Ave [Redfin]
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