Hot Property: Peter Morton lists Beverly Hills view home for $22.5 million

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By Ann Brenoff, Times Staff Writer

My answer to those who would argue that Los Angeles has no mavens of culture is Peter Morton, the creator of the first Hard Rock Cafe and those ubiquitous T-shirts. Admit it, you owned at least one.

Morton, whose papa, Arnie, was the founder of the legendary restaurant Mortons, wheels and deals high-end property no matter the economic climate. He just listed a house in Beverly Hills that he’s owned for about two years for $22.5 million.

What makes this property unique among the eight-digit listings is that it will only be shown only on clear days, according to the MLS/CLAW. The listing says the ‘extraordinary’ view is from downtown to the ocean. And apparently they don’t really want you looking in the direction of the house, which is being sold for ‘land value,’ says the listing.

The listing offers few details about the property and notes there will be no inspections of the house. This suggests ‘teardown city’ to those who read realty tea leaves. The two-story house on 4 acres was built in 1940, and we personally hate to see the old destroyed for the new. But the basics are: seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms in about 8,000 square feet.

The property has an extraordinary Hollywood ownership lineage as well. It once belonged to actress Marlo Thomas, who sold it to media mogul David Geffen, who flipped it over to radio tycoon Norm Pattiz, who then sold it to Morton for $18.5 million in 2006.

Mortons — the restaurant — was the subject of Julia Phillips’ 1991 book, ‘You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again’ — the premise being that your ability to get a good table there was a barometer of your relative importance in Hollywood.