Tom Davila and John Zaffarano have lived on their street in the Hollywood Hills for roughly 30 years.
In all that time, though, they’ve only entered their neighbor's estate at 2200 Maravilla Drive a handful of times.
“I was only in it once on one floor,” Zaffarano told Homes.com in an interview.
“I was there twice, and only on the top floor,” Davila added.
That changed recently, though, when the home’s owner passed away — and Davila and Zaffarano, both agents with Compass, were tapped to sell the property.
“In the last probably 20 to 25 years, I would say maybe half a dozen people have been through the house,” Zaffrano said.
It wasn’t always that way, though. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom estate, known as Villa Dorada, was a hotspot for Hollywood’s elite, especially in the 1950s.
“If the walls could only talk,” Zaffarano said.
The villa hit the market for the first time in 53 years on Sept.15. It’s asking $7.5 million, according to a listing on Homes.com.
A Hollywood hideaway with a storied past
In fact, the property’s history is so extensive that the last owner hired a historian to create a biographical recounting of its past.
The house dates to 1929, when a doctor commissioned the property to be built. At the time, the residence was one of the first in the Outpost Estates neighborhood. Today, it sits on a flat street with a cul-de-sac.
“It’s a very special community because it was built in the 20s with underground utilities, so there’s no wires or anything like that,” Zaffarano explained.
Before the original owner had a chance to really live in the property, he passed away, and the home was sold. That owner rented the residence to actor Bela Lugosi, the original Dracula, in the 1930s.
By the 1950s, after it had traded hands about four more times, the home belonged to James Van Heusen, an Academy Award-winning songwriter known for his work with singers including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Cahn.
Rumor has it that Van Heusen shared the property with Frank Sinatra and another man. The trio used it as a bachelor pad, according to Davila and Zaffarano.
“The parties, I hear, were incredible,” Zaffarano said. “Bing Crosby used to come up to the house…in his yellow convertible.”
Finding someone to appreciate the home's age
“It does need some work,” Davila said. “It depends on who wants to buy it, and I would hope it would be someone that wants to restore it rather than someone come in and tear it down.”
With that in mind, Davila and Zaffarano said they priced the home with that in mind, explaining that other, smaller homes in the neighborhood have sold for more.
Although it’s nearly 100 years old, at the time it was built, the property was an example of excellent craftsmanship per the original building permits, according to Zaffarano.
“There was a designation of plumbing and fixtures and electrical that…if you did it a step above, it was called ‘special,’” he said. “This had the designation of ‘extra special.'
“The opportunity was to really showcase what works about this house,” Zaffarano added. “Our hope is somebody will appreciate the details and just basically capitalize on what’s there."