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Classing up the market in Pasadena this week is a trés chic manse by le roi of Hollywood Regency, John Elgin Woolf. Known as the Fred J. Toole House, it was built in 1958 for a banker and his society-maven wife, Florence, and we can only assume it was the site of many a swell Eisenhower-era shindig.
Located south of the Arroyo, in a picturesque nabe stuffed with architecturally significant homes by the likes of Paul Williams, Wallace Neff, and Gordon Kaufmann, the Toole residence stands out from its Spanish Colonial and Tudor Revival-style neighbors with its signature mansard roof, oversize Pullman doors, and oval windows.
The single-level house is fronted by a circular motor court, establishing a motif that is echoed throughout the home. Past the 10-foot-high double door entry, a foyer with tongue-and-groove-planked walls flows to the high-ceilinged living room, anchored by a marble fireplace set into a curving bank of windows.
Next is the formal dining room, one wall of which is festooned with handpainted Chinese wallpaper panels the listing informs us are “from the collection of Rose Cumming circa 1925.” When a listing contains a statement like that, it usually means “Buckle up,” and this one delivers on that promise; intermingling within the three-bedroom, five-bathroom home are cheetah-print carpeting, lavender toile wallpaper, different varieties of marble, extravagant antique chandeliers, and presumably original parquet wood floors.
The .64-acre property also features Woolf’s signature oval pool with fountains and a glass-fronted pool house with interior accordion-fold doors to close off the bedroom and bath from the entertaining space. Completing the package are spectacular gardens designed by acclaimed landscape architect Nord Eriksson.
Last sold in 2012 for about $2.5 million, the property is now asking $5 million. Ted Clark and Heather Lillard of Compass share the listing.
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