PCH water tower home on sale for $4.5 million
October 27th, 2008, 3:00 am ·
A landmark water tower converted into a private home is up for sale again – this time for $4.5 million.
The tower, across Pacific Coast Highway from Huntington Harbour, is listed as “an entertainer’s dream.” It has a 360-degree view of everything from Catalina Island to the San Gabriel mountains.
The 87-foot-tall, multi-level residence, which borders Sunset Beach and Seal Beach, apparently has been on the market since late September.
It was listed in July 2004 for $5 million, and in the late 90s for $3.5 million. But no one bought it.
The current listing states, “Commercial-grade elevator brings occupants to the common levels, soaring well above height restrictions limiting other homes in the area.”
Additional details:
Location: 1 Anderson St.
3 bedrooms, 4 baths
Square footage: 2,800
Year home built: 1984. (Original water tower on this property stored water for railroad steam engines in the 1800s; tower rebuilt in the 1940s and later became part of the area’s water system, according to published reports. The water tank functioned until 1975.)
Indoor firepit, wetbar & built-in fish tank. A Register story in 2005 read, “A 145-gallon curved aquarium accents the entry to the observation room.”
Expansive master suite with steam shower and Jacuzzi tub
Exterior construction: wood
Gerald Wallace, a retired fire chief for the city of South Pasadena, has owned the tower since 1995.
He told the L.A. Times in a June story about Sunset Beach, “It’s not for sale. But if somebody offered me $5 million, I’d think about it.”
The building costs him $75,000 a year to maintain because of its complicated mechanical systems, he told the Times. He’s rented it out for about $4,000 a week.
