From a master of many styles
Gerard R. Colcord was 28 and had designed houses for four years when he created this 1928 Tudor Revival in Pacific Palisades.
Before he died in 1984, Colcord had designed and built more than 200 homes, mainly in Southern California, although he was best known for his Connecticut-style farmhouses.
This home is more refined than his so-called gentlemen farmhouses and has such classic Colcord touches as a formal entrance hall with tongue-and-groove paneled walls and ceiling corbels with carvings of fanciful faces.
The slate roof, brickwork and custom wood trim “distinguish this home as a rare Colcord period piece,” listing agent James Respondek said.
Born in Missouri and educated in Europe before moving to Los Angeles in 1924, Colcord was “formally trained but executed his work with a light and often humorous touch,” said Bret Parsons, a mortgage broker whose book “Architect Gerard R. Colcord” is expected to be published next year.
A talented artist, Colcord often doodled on the backs of blueprints while considering which architectural genre to use. The styles he chose varied widely and included Brittany Tudor, Tudor Revival, Country French, Hollywood Regency, Spanish Hacienda and Monterey Colonial.
“He left a significant architectural legacy,” Parsons said. Colcord homes often command selling prices of $5 million to $10 million, he added, “but they are rarely listed for sale.”
In his research, Parsons discovered two other Colcords across the street from the Tudor Revival and estimates there are eight Colcords in the same neighborhood.
About this house: The Tudor Revival needs updating. “Wonderful details await enhancement throughout,” said Respondek, who describes the home as “an architectural connoisseur’s dream restoration opportunity situated on a large park-like lot. The grounds feature mature trees and hedges, sprawling lawns and a generous pool providing a true estate feeling.”
Asking price: $5,995,000
Size: There are four bedrooms plus a guest quarters/studio and 3 1/2 bathrooms in 3,986 square feet. The lot is slightly more than 19,000 square feet.
Features: The home has a formal dining room, a library with garden views, a formal living room with a fireplace that opens to a private terrace, a reading room with a wood-beamed ceiling, leaded and metal windows and doors, peaked arched doorways and hardwood floors.
Where: Palisades Riviera area of Pacific Palisades
Listing agent: James Respondek, (310) 255-5411, Sotheby’s International Realty, Pacific Palisades
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos with caption information on a CD and a description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Questions may be sent to or e-mail homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
