This may be the best listing opener we've ever seen: "This once magnificent estate was originally built by Mr. Appel as his family's residence and as a showplace for his construction company." It's got mystery, glamor, downfall, construction company showcases. The house, built in 1938, is being sold in a trust sale and a tipster who visited yesterday (update: he's given us permission to out him as our commenter PalGeorge) tells us that neighbors are gossiping about the recent death of a long-time, reclusive owner (only the second ever, according to the listing). Photos show a deteriorating house (our tipster says "the exterior has especially suffered from decades of deferred maintenance, windows panes missing, brick stairs crumbling, and major cracks in the foundation"), but there's still a lot of finery here: a step-down living room, inlaid hardwood floors, a giant bay window, that grand pink bathroom (we're not sure what to make of the "Art Deco style bar"). The property also includes four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a dining room, breakfast room, and more than half an acre of land. Our tipster has a hunch that it might have been designed by Paul Williams: "the wrought iron support [last photo] over the garage is a design featured on a number of Paul Williams houses from the period, including a PW in Silver Lake." Asking price is $1.899 million.
· 5730 SPRING OAK Dr [Redfin]
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