Casa Encantada is looking to cast its spell on a new owner. The storied estate, an icon of old Hollywood glamour, has returned to the market with an unchanged ask of $195 million.
Though its palatial grandeur now seems a vestige of more gilded times, Casa Encantada remains a paragon of luxury real estate. Commissioned by a wealthy widow in the late 1930s, the 40,000-square-foot mansion married Georgian and Modernist architectural philosophies under the skillful hand of James E. Dolena. The estate has since passed between titans like hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and agricultural mogul David Murdock.
Its most recent steward, late telecom tycoon Gary Winnick, undertook a sensitive restoration to recapture Casa Encantada’s beguiling charms. Beyond the home’s sun-dappled interiors, the grounds sprawl over eight verdant acres adjoining the links of Bel-Air Country Club. Visitors delight in meandering through formal rose gardens, lush tropical groves, and an array of recreational amenities from tennis to swimming.
Yet Casa Encantada is more than just brick and mortar. It is a bastion of California’s gilded age, an emblem of a bygone era. As one of Bel-Air’s original trophy estates, its provenance rivals any property in the nation.
So as spring once again stirs the sycamores of Bel-Air, perhaps a new steward will answer Casa Encantada’s call. For those who appreciate heritage as much as real estate, opportunities like this come once in a lifetime.
