In Southland, a Coate is a luxury
It isn’t difficult to locate a Southern California home designed by the renowned architect Roland E. Coate, but finding one that is on the market can be another matter.
This San Marino home was built in 1936 for industrialist Tom Pike and his wife, Katherine, at a cost of $28,500 -- quite a sum during the Depression, according to research from Tim Gregory, the Pasadena-based building biographer. But the Pikes paid it, moved in and stayed.
The Pike family didn’t sell the property until 1997. They were comfortable in the spacious Colonial Revival-style home, which was custom-designed for them.
About the architect: Coate was a graduate of the architecture program at Cornell University, which focused on Beaux Arts style. Although he was mainly a residential architect, Coate designed All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills in 1925, and it gained notice as a fine example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, which he used in houses too. Coate also is known for his Tudor-style homes. He designed a couple dozen houses in Pasadena and another dozen or so on the Westside, many for celebrity clients including Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.
In his house plans, Coate included areas for privacy, serenity and seclusion. Courtyards, walled and planted with trees and shrubs, were intended to recall California’s past.
Asking price: $6.5 million
Size: Six bedrooms in 6,396 square feet on 1 acre.
Features: There are French doors, built-in shelves and cabinets, a garden room, a butler’s pantry with mahogany counters, a remodeled kitchen, seven updated bathrooms, four fireplaces, a tennis court, a saltwater pool, a spa, air-conditioning and San Gabriel Valley views. The entry has a curved staircase. The paneled master bedroom suite has a fireplace and private deck.
Where: Circle Drive, San Marino
Listing agent: Carol Chua at Coldwell Banker Previews, Pasadena, (626) 844-2222.
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