Roaring ‘20s meet the roaring sea
This bluff-top home sits on the south edge of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on a stretch of Southern California coastline that doesn’t focus on surfers, boutiques and restaurants.
Casa Amoda, known by locals as the Rock House, is next to a protected nature preserve with tide pools and an expanse of secluded beach. A stone path leads to antique iron gates that open to a courtyard with a Spanish fountain, a lawn and a stairway down to the surf.
The 3 1/2 -story house, built by hand from 1924 to 1926, was a bed-and-breakfast during Prohibition. It was frequented by Hollywood stars who wanted to get away and take in the views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Legend has it that rumrunners brought casks by rowboat and used a pulley system to pull them up the cliff to an underground cold-storage closet.
Ocean-facing, floor-to-ceiling picture windows and 14-foot ceiling heights give the usually sun-drenched home an indoor-outdoor feeling. There are unobstructed views of the setting sun toward White Point.
About this house: It is a replica of a one-time governor’s summer house in Costa Rica. The locally used name reflects the fact that the original home was built of rock from the shoreline some 167 feet below. The great room has a stone fireplace, exposed timber beams in the walls and a wood ceiling. The main house includes a master bedroom, guest room and offices. The top floor is a separate apartment with kitchen, living and dining rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom.
Asking price: $3,295,000
Size: There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a three-quarter bathroom and a half bath in a total of 2,656 square feet of living space.
Features: The Spanish-style house, south garden, courtyard and two-car garage are on two buildable lots. There is a raised deck off the dining room with steps down to patio seating along the cliff.
Where: San Pedro, along the coastline between Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro’s Point Fermin historic lighthouse.
Listing agent: Megan M. Neel, Coldwell Banker Previews International, Rolling Hills Estates, (310) 544-8478.
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To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send color photos with caption info on a CD and a description of the house to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012; homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
