This week, Alex Rodriguez listed a very unusual home. The Honnold and Rex Research House was built as part of the Architecture Products Research House Program, which evolved in the wake of the popular and focused Case Study Program. It dates to 1954, but was renovated circa 2012 and sold to Meryl Streep, who, with husband Don Gummer, picked it up for $4.5 million against a $6 million initial ask. Mr. Rodriguez pitched a lazy $4.8 million to the pair for the keys in 2014, and listed it this week at $6.5 million.

Without being an entry in the Case Study series—which have been gaining favor among more discriminating high-end house buyers in recent years—that’s still a fair amount of historical narrative and high-profile association for one home to bear. Being associated with a campaign that enhanced the visibility of modern period architecture only adds to its cachet, even if the property lacks the cultural L.A. significance of a CSH.

Renovations to the four-bedroom house were conducted by architecture conservationist Xorin Balbes, founder of firm TempleHome and advocate of finding and preserving the soul in residential buildings; amen to that. Unsurprising, then, that the revision of Honnold and Rex’s contribution to modern single-family home research is sensitively accomplished.

The home’s fastidious amenities are testament to the fact that this is not a CSH, however. This is a luxury house, with an emphasis on aesthetic form over strict utility. It’s quite beautiful inside as it currently stands, with an arresting sense of space and a suite of surprises that include an open semi-floor staircase, a hardwood switchback main staircase, and a massive living room fireplace with an accent wall rising into the second floor.