Desert History for Sale

Movie mogul Jack L. Warner used this Palm Springs compound to entertain Hollywood stars, studio bosses and writers. He let President Eisenhower use it as a retreat.

Now it is a home of author-screenwriter Steve Shagan and his wife, Betty. He wrote “Primal Fear” (1996), starring Richard Gere, and the HBO special “Gotti” (1996), about mobster John Gotti, in one of the three guest houses on the estate. Earlier, he wrote the novel and screenplay for “Save the Tiger” (1973).

* About this property: Built in the ‘50s by Warner, the compound recently underwent a two-year renovation, but now the Shagans, who have a New York apartment, want to downsize.

They bought the Palm Springs estate in 1989 from Warner’s widow, Ann, who died a year later. The studio chief died at 86 in 1978.

* Asking price: $3.2 million

* Size: The 8,179-square-foot compound, on 1.38 acres, was big enough for Warner to entertain 300 weekend guests. The courtyard has enough room for a limo to maneuver.

The estate, behind 6-foot walls, has a main house, a guest house by the pool, one where Shagan writes, and another for the caretaker.

There is also a one-bedroom apartment built for a chauffeur or maid.

* Features: The home comes with bronze Pharaoh-head door knobs and a bronze Bacchus fountain designed by decorator-to-the-stars Billy Haines. The compound also has 200-year-old hand-painted mural wallpaper in the entrance and living room and wallpaper imported from France in the guest house/writing studio.

The grounds are shaded by palm and olive trees.

* Where: On two blocks in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood of Palm Springs.

* Listing agent: Ginny Becker of Becker & Becker Realty, an affiliate of Sotheby’s, in Palm Springs, (760) 346-5593.

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Candidates for Home of the Week can be e-mailed to ruth.ryon@la.times.com.