There are few things in this world you can depend on, but happily, one of 'em is the appearance of yet another of Pasadena's pedigreed properties on the market. Today's illustrious specimen, located in the San Rafael hills just west of Arroyo Seco park, was designed in 1930 by Garrett Van Pelt, onetime partner in the firm of Marston, Van Pelt, & Maybury, and principal architect of the Pacific Asia Museum. Although the listing doesn't mention it, according to a 2001 LA Times article, the home was commissioned by Arthur Thorsen, cofounder of the Walgreens drug store chain. After Thorsen's widow died in 1957, it was purchased by Caltech and used as a seismology laboratory by Charles Richter, the scientist who devised the Richter Scale. More recently, the Italianate villa served as residence for a villain in the 2003 heist flick The Italian Job. The 11,229 square foot home features eight bedrooms, seven and a half baths, reinforced concrete foundation, an elevator, steel windows, bronze and wrought iron doors, coffered ceilings, marble floors, a wood paneled cigar room, a 150-foot-long tunnel leading from the house to the lower garden, five fireplaces, a basketball court, and heated pool with spa. Asking price for the 2.6 acre property is $8.885 million.
· Design Magic in Pasadena [LAT]
· 295 N San Rafael Ave [Redfin]
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