Spicing up the market today is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #403, aka the Hiram Higgins Mansion. Designed by the illustrious John C. Austin—whose other projects include Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles's second City Hall, and the Shrine Auditorium—the Queen Anne-style residence was originally erected on Wilshire Boulevard back in 1902 for Chicago grain merchant Hiram Higgins. Unfortunately, Mr. Higgins only got to enjoy the house for a short time, passing away in it in 1906. Less than twenty years later, the 9,918-square-foot house was cut into three sections, lifted onto trucks, and rolled to its current location in Windsor Square.
According to the LA Conservancy's page on the house, "the owner held a party in one of the moving sections, attended by the mayor of Los Angeles." However, the party soon came to an end, thanks to the Great Depression, and the house fell into disrepair.
Fortunately, after "a half century of neglect," a couple named Perry and Peggy Hirsch stepped in to rescue and restore the property, which was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1988. The eight-bedroom, four-bath house has been seen in numerous films, ads, and TV shows, including a Halloween episode of Beverly Hills, 90210; the horror movie Willard; and the 1991 The Addams Family film, but is now retired and up for sale for the first time in three decades. Features include incredible wood paneling, high ceilings, hardwood floors, pocket doors, multiple fireplaces, leaded windows, beaucoup built-ins, a wine cellar, an updated "gourmet kitchen with stone counters & Wolf and SubZero appliances," and two guesthouses. Sited on a .43-acre lot, it's asking $6.5 million.
· 637 S. Lucerne Blvd. [Official Site]