Couple bites on Balboa Island’s historic ‘Jaws’ house

After their three kids moved out, Barbara and Dan Abbott had been casually looking to downsize from their 4,800-square-foot home of 39 years.

They wanted a house with an oceanfront view, but none they viewed left an impression quite like the landmark house built by famed architect John Lautner at 804 S. Bay Front.

The Balboa Island property is known affectionately by locals as the “Jaws house” because the shape of the balcony reminded some of a Great White shark’s open mouth. Its architectural design earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places and Newport Beach’s list of historical landmarks.

The Abbotts, both 70, watched builders work on the house from the ground up and admired it from afar for 37 years. They never imagined they’d hook it.

They paid $3.7 million.

“When we finally got the house, and it was really ours, we couldn’t believe it,” Barbara Abbott said. “We’re still pinching ourselves. We’re so excited.”

The estate has been in and out of escrow for about four years and was originally listed at $4.4 million.

Lautner, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright who died in 1994, built the two-story house for the late philanthropists Robert and Marjorie Rawlins in 1979. It features three bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and an elevator over 2,100 square foot.

“He told them, ‘I want you to be able to live in it forever,’” said Barbara Abbott. “So, he put in an elevator. We don’t want to think about [needing it], but we’re glad it’s there. They really thought about every last detail.”

Michael LaFetra, an architecture preservationist who restored the Rawlins house, said he took on the project because he was afraid it would get torn down.

“I think Orange County likes to knock stuff like that down,” said LaFetra, 49, of Los Angeles. “I don’t mean to throw shade at Orange County, but … architecture is most at risk where the conventional wisdom is, ‘location, location, location.’”

The Abbotts — Dan, a doctor, retired as the director of the emergency department at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton about four years ago, and Barbara is a painter — said both the house and its location are perfect.

“We both love the views,” Dan Abbott said.

Moreso they appreciated its architectural significance — a trait LaFetra was looking for in a buyer.

“We assured him we would preserve it,” said Barbara Abbott. “We’ll make sure we find a buyer who keeps it as is also.”The only thing that will change is the furniture, she said.

--

Nuran Alteir is a contributor to Times Community News.

Twitter: @whatnuransaid