A mansion once called “the Versailles of La Jolla,” which once played host to an important meeting of U.S. journalists with a Soviet ambassador, is on the market for $27.9 million.
The 2.65-acre estate at 1205 Muirlands Drive was designed by famed architect Edgar Ullrich nearly a century ago. It is among the biggest homes in La Jolla with 14,768 square feet of living space, eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
Some of its features include ocean views, a botanical sanctuary, a tennis court, a pool, two guest homes, a home theater, a sauna, two koi ponds, a basement game room, gym, library and parking for six cars.
It first hit the market for $33.9 million in June 2024 and has been listed for sale on and off since. That isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary: Estates at this price often stay on the market for much longer than traditional houses because the pool of potential buyers is much smaller.
Also, the owners are a tad picky: They refused to sell the home last year to someone who planned to tear it down.
“It’s super unique. There’s been nothing like this on the market,” said listing agent Craig Lotzof. “This is a house that evokes emotion.”
Built around 1929, it is an example of Ullrich’s Spanish Colonial Revival style, says the city’s historic designation. He designed more than 25 structures in La Jolla, including churches, and many of his homes have been designated historic.
The mansion’s most notable owner was Gifford Ewing, a famous oceanographer known for his research of remote sensing devices. Much of his work was done at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, but he also worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other academic institutions.
A view from the garden at 1205 Muirlands Drive, on sale for $27.9 million. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A view from the garden at 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The pool and one of the two hot tubs at 1205 Muirlands Drive on the market for $27.9 million. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
An outdoor dining table in the garden at 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The pool area at 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The backyard of 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A koi pond at 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A hallway inside 1205 Muirlands Drive in early June. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The music room inside 1205 Muirlands Drive. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A view from the garden at 1205 Muirlands Drive, on sale for $27.9 million. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The home was built for Harold Muir as the center of his Muirlands development. It is believed famed horticulturalist Kate Sessions designed the landscape architecture. Carol Olten, historian at the La Jolla Historical Society, said while there are clues Sessions worked on the property, or her nephew Milton Sessions, records from that time are hard to come by.
Previous notable owners of the estate include Ret. Adm. Louis Hunte and his wife Emily Hunte, heirs to the H.G. Fenton Material Company, and public relations executive Ken Smith.
During Smith’s ownership, he represented several large San Diego companies and would hold various diplomatic events at the property. The Muirlands Drive mansion played host to a March 1990 meeting with Soviet Consul General Valentin Kamenev, a major figure in the closing years of the USSR. The purpose of the visit was for American reporters and international relations experts to discuss the state of media in Russia.
A pottery shed at 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A mural of horror movie characters outside a home movie theater at 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The view from a bedroom balcony of 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The view from a bedroom balcony of 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A game room, with a Monopoly board on the ceiling, at 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A kids room at 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A bathroom inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One of the primary bathrooms inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A stairwell inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A living area inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. in early June. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A sauna on the second floor of 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A movie theater inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A hallway at 1205 Muirlands Dr. in early June. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A wall niche seen inside 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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A pottery shed at 1205 Muirlands Dr. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
There are a lot of mansions in San Diego that claim to be the local version of France’s Palace of Versailles. However, the title first appeared in print in 1990 in the pages of the San Diego Union for the Muirlands Drive property — a major boon to real estate agents marketing the property over the years.
The San Diego Union-Tribune toured the property and walked through the gardens, the main residence and explored quirky features, like a minuscule dog door on the second floor and hidden screen windows that keep bugs out in the summer.
There are many aspects of the mansion not common in modern homes, like 11 fireplaces, and hundreds of small touches that would be unheard of in modern construction. There’s a Moorish-inspired wall niche just for a plant, custom tiled sinks in bathrooms, and a mural of horror movie icons (Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy) outside the home movie theater.
The grounds are probably the highlight for many visitors with quiet areas for reflection, native plants and trees, chirping birds and a feeling like you are in your own mini-Balboa Park.
The listing comes during a strong time for the luxury market. There were 232 pending sales in May for San Diego County homes listed above $2 million, said real estate firm Reports on Housing. That’s up from the previous record of 225 in March 2022 when sales were supercharged before mortgage rates rose.
Property taxes would be less than usual because the home has a historic designation covered under the Mills Act. Without the designation, and selling at its listed price, would produce an annual tax bill of $343,170, said the San Diego County Assessor’s Office. Under the Mills Act, a state law that lowers taxes for the maintenance of historic structures, the current tax bill is just under $17,000 per year. With a purchase at the listed price, the Mills Act amount would increase, with a conservative estimate being around $60,000 a year tax bill — an annual savings of $283,170.
Historic designations sometimes dissuade affluent buyers because it limits changes to the home, but Lotzof noted the potential buyer can still make changes to the inside of the house. However, the hope of the current owners is the right buyer for the property will come along who wants to be a steward of its legacy.