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    A Hollywood Composer’s Coastal California Compound Hits the Market for $16.8 Million

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    Back in the late 1980s, Grammy-winning film composer Alan Silvestri and his wife Sandra fell in love with a particularly dreamy estate tucked away in Central California’s affluent Carmel Highlands enclave and knew they had to make the picturesque spread their own.

    The couple wound up purchasing the century-old property for $1.9 million and spent the next decade restoring and renovating every inch of the place, all while working and living on the site, raising three children, and even launching Silvestri Vineyards nearby. Now, almost 16 years later, they are putting the fully transformed compound on the market for $16.8 million. Shelly Mitchell Lynch of Carmel Realty Company holds the listing.

    Silvestri used a Steinway piano in the living room to compose soundtracks for several memorable films.

    Carmel Realty Company

    RELATED: Clint Eastwood’s Onetime Seaside Retreat in California Is Up for Grabs at $21 Million

    “We were struck by how beautiful it was, and the air and the ocean and wildness and everything,” Sandra related in a recent issue of Carmel Realty’s in-house magazine. Added Alan, who was hoping to relocate from Los Angeles while continuing his successful career scoring soundtracks for movies like Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit: “We took a leap. There was no doubt about that. We didn’t know how my business was going to react to it.

    “The first confirmation we had was [while I was composing] my first film in the house, The Abyss,” he said. “When we saw [director] James Cameron driving down the driveway, we knew, ‘Okay, he was willing to come here and maybe this will work out.’ ”

    The main stone and wood-trimmed home features an expansive rear deck that steps down to a pool.

    Carmel Realty Company

    Perched atop a gated knoll resting between two secluded roads on the eastern side of Highway 1, near beaches and the charming downtown village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the 14-acre compound features a main home inspired by the historic Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite and a trio of guesthouses—for a total of nine bedrooms and 12 baths filtered across roughly 12,000 square feet overlooking sweeping views of Point Lobos and the Pacific Ocean beyond.

    Within the 5,697-square-foot primary dwelling are five bedrooms and six baths, as well as dual offices, a fireside family room that flows to a dining area and a breakfast nook-equipped kitchen, and a spacious living room that currently houses a Steinway piano on which Silvestri has written music for Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, The Polar Express and The Avengers, among others. The basement is used for storing wine, while the woodsy grounds host a pool and spa, a tennis/pickleball court, and three separate garages with room for up to seven vehicles.

    A small log cabin on the property once served as a schoolhouse for local children.

    Carmel Realty Company

    RELATED: A Hollywood Screenwriter Asks $4.2 Million for His Coastal California Retreat

    Guest accommodations include The Cottage, a 774-square-foot log cabin that once served as a schoolhouse for local children, and the castle-like Turret House, a 641-square-foot studio space that comes with a stainless spiral staircase leading down to a subterranean garage. Clocking in at a little more than 5,000 square feet on three levels, The Studio House features a media lounge up top and a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with its own kitchen and laundry on the main level, plus multiple offices and a recording studio down below.

    Click here for more photos of the Carmel Highlands estate.

    Carmel Realty Company

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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      Clint Eastwood’s Onetime Seaside Retreat in California Is Up for Grabs at $21 Million

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      Back in the early 1950s, after he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed at Central California‘s Fort Ord overlooking the picturesque Monterey Bay, Clint Eastwood would often find himself visiting the small beach city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, even partaking in his first legal beer at the historic Mission Ranch. The San Francisco native inevitably wound up falling in love with the charming coastal area, telling a local magazine in a Q&A interview shortly before his 94th birthday in May that he “always felt it was a place I’d like to come back to, a place to call home.”

      And call the place home he did, making a big mark along the way. The now legendary and still-working actor, producer, director, and composer of more than 100 films and TV shows—among them, the award-winning movies Gran Torino, Unforgiven, and Million Dollar Baby—not only starred in and made his directorial debut with 1971’s Play Misty for Me, but he also served a two-year stint as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in the late ’80s and named his Malpaso production company after a local creek.

      He still lives in the area at Tehàma, an exclusive 2,000-acre private residential enclave in the hills of Carmel that he himself founded. However, Eastwood at one time resided in an eye-catching spread in the heart of the quaint oceanfront village down below, just one street up from Carmel Beach. It’s this seaside retreat that has popped up for sale at $21 million for the first time in almost three decades, complete with enchanting vistas of the scenic coastline that are sure to make your day!

      The charming Spanish Revival-style home is fronted by an enclosed courtyard warmed by a fire pit.

      Sherman Chu/courtesy of Tim Allen Properties Team

      “Many long-standing residents in the region have an affinity for the history of this property,” says listing agent Tim Allen of the Tim Allen Properties Team at Coldwell Banker Realty. “The warm and inviting spaces, both inside and outside, take you back in time and are reflective of Carmel’s old-world style and beauty. This private oasis is truly a special property not only because of its history but also for its exquisiteness and privacy.”

      Per The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale, retired investor Frederick O’Such and his late wife Joanne paid an Eastwood-linked trust around $2.25 million in the late ’90s for the gated property, which rests on just over a quarter-acre of land and boasts four bedrooms and five baths in 4,400-plus square feet of three-level living space accented throughout with mahogany details, custom built-ins, cherry wood floors, vaulted wood-beamed ceilings, and plaster walls. There’s also a detached two-car garage.

      A decorative fireplace, built-in cabinetry, and picture window adorn the formal dining room.

      Sherman Chu/courtesy of Tim Allen Properties Team

      Built exactly a century ago in 1924, but given an extensive two-year, $2.5 million rebuild and remodel during O’Such’s tenure, the Carmel stone and terracotta-roof structure is known as Las Ondas and features an enclosed entry courtyard donning a fire pit, several ocean-view decks, and a gated walkway that leads down to the beach.

      Other highlights include formal living and dining rooms, each with their own fireplace, as well as a media room, a climate-controlled wine room, and two laundry rooms. The Craftsman-style kitchen is outfitted with wood and tile countertops, a painted tin ceiling, Thermador and Sub-Zero appliances, built-in seating, and a walk-in pantry, while a duo of luxe primary suites includes one with a fireside seating area that opens to a private balcony and a bath sporting dual vanities, a steam shower, and a vintage clawfoot soaking tub.

      According to WSJ, O’Such is selling because he is ready to move on after the death of his most recent spouse Nancy Fuhrman, who passed away a few months ago. “This has been a lovely house for me with both of [my wives],” said O’Such, who is planning to relocate to a cottage at a nearby retirement community upon the sale of the property. “It is time for the next owner to enjoy this historic home and share it with their friends and family for years to come.”

      Click here for more photos of Clint Eastwood’s house.

      Sherman Chu/courtesy of Tim Allen Properties Team More

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      Brad Pitt Drops $40 Million on a Historic, Century-Old Castle in Northern California

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      Well known for his love and knowledge of design and architecture, Brad Pitt has added a fascinating historical estate to his property portfolio. 

      Located in Carmel Highlands, California, the actor recently closed on what agents are calling one of the most expensive sales ever in the area, reported the Wall Street Journal. Pitt purchased a Monterey County estate known as the D.L. James House, after its first owner, which was originally built by architect Charles Sumner Greene around 1918. Sited on a rocky cliff, the off-market property was previously occupied for over two decades by late Chicago financier Joe Ritchie who died in February. 

      The D.L. James House built by architect Charles Greene 

      Greene & Greene Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.

      Greene, who was an influential figure in the 20th century Arts & Crafts movement, met businessman and writer D.L. James when he moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1916, according to The Gamble House organization. Shortly after, James commissioned the architect to construct a home on a bluff that he’d bought. It took approximately four years, in which James defied elevation logic by insisting the home be built on a steep, challenging plot.  
      He also opted for locally sourced sandstone and granite instead of wood—because of this, the D.L. James House, later referred to as Seaward, appears as if it’s growing right out of the cliff. The elaborate stonework of the outer walls resembles a medieval castle, while arched windows and an earth-toned-tile roof give it a distinct Mediterranean flair.  

      Archive photos of the dining area and living room in The D.L. James House 

      Maynard L. Parker, photographer, The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.

      The historic home is formatted as a single-level residence, but specific details about its layout are scarce. What we do know is that the interior features carved marble and details of Green’s signature woodwork, speaking to his Arts and Crafts style, and the living areas are open-plan. There’s also an outdoor courtyard.  

      The interior of The D.L. James House in Carmel, California 

      Maynard L. Parker, photographer, The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.

      After James died in 1944, his son, who was also a writer, acquired the property. He lived there with his wife until he eventually passed away in 1988. His widow sold the house in 1999 to Ritchie, who purchased the house for $4.5 million, reported Dirt.  
      Ever the opportunist, Ritchie made headlines a few years later in 2001 when he tried to build an underground tunnel to access the rocky beach down below. The idea was supposed to replace a staircase that used to be located on the property but had been washed away by the tide. The County Planning Commission greenlit the decision, but the Coastal Commission put the kibosh on the plans somewhere along the way. Whether or not the Ritchie’s were able to proceed with building a secret tunnel is something we suppose only Pitt will know. More