Gene Hackman’s former LA estate sold for $1.71m; now asks $5.995m

A nearly century-old English Cotswold-style manor in Los Angeles, once owned by Casablanca director Michael Curtiz and actor Gene Hackman, is on the market. The cobblestone driveway stretching more than 200 feet leads to a manor straight out of the English countryside. Located at 4934 Queen Florence Lane in Woodland Hills, in the San Fernando Valley, the house is asking $5.995 million, Mansion Global reported.A Cotswold manor in the ValleyPic credit: ZillowBuilt in 1928 by developer Harold Ferguson as his residence, the house was deeply inspired by the aesthetics of the Cotswolds, a region of England known for stone cottages and rolling hills. According to listing agent Deanna D’Egidio of Harcourts Plus, Ferguson “built this as his own residence, as an English Cotswolds manor.”Pic credit: ZillowThe house was the centrepiece of the Canoga Estate, a far bigger property that has since been split up. It is now almost 100 years old, and the listing calls it ‘one of the most historically significant private homes’ in the San Fernando Valley.Pic credit: ZillowIn the 1930s, Ferguson sold the estate to Michael Curtiz, who directed more than 100 films, including ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ and ‘White Christmas’. He won the Oscar for Best Director for ‘Casablanca’. Curtiz commissioned changes to the property, and blueprints from 1935 document the work, the listing said.Pic credit: ZillowThe house has had some famous owners, including business magnate Walter Weisman. Gene Hackman, the Oscar-winning star of ‘The French Connection’, owned the home around 1970, according to D’Egidio.The manor now stands on over 2 acres of property and has every bit of its English countryside charm. “You have 160 rose bushes, meandering garden paths, a pond, a tennis court, a massive grass lawn. It feels like you’re in Europe, not in Los Angeles anymore,” D’Egidio said.Pic credit: ZillowAccording to D’Egidio, the property ‘has been maintained meticulously and is in original condition’ over its almost 100-year existence.From $1.71 million to $5.995 millionPic credit: ZillowThe home was sold for $1.71 million in October 1994, according to public records. The house went on the market this June at $5.995 million, roughly 3.5 times that price. That is a jump of about $4.3 million since 1994. At today’s asking price, it works out to roughly $926 per square foot, according to listing data. The listing agent said the seller bought the home 35 years ago.D’Egidio worked with designer Francesca Grace and the seller’s own antique furniture to stage the rooms. “We really wanted to honour the timelessness [of the home],” she said, since buyers these days increasingly favour period charm.“What we’ve seen in L.A. is so many builders who are butchering these homes, everything looks the same. Buyers are craving authenticity, craving something timeless, craving warmth and romance.”The listing calls the home a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to look after a piece of Los Angeles history.What the buyer getsThe manor sits on 2.09 acres of estate. The main house is 4,847 square feet. A 1,352-square-foot guest house has two dedicated changing rooms for pool days, and a separate 275-square-foot recreation room brings the total to 6,474 square feet. The main house alone is just under 5,000 square feet. There are six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, of which six are full. Hand-hewn wood floors run through the home. There are vaulted ceilings with wood beams, original leaded windows and doors, and hand-painted bathroom tiles. Leaded windows are glass panes set in thin strips of lead. Outside are copper gutters and a slate roof.The cobblestone driveway is one of the most attractive features of the manor. It has been maintained meticulously and is in original condition.Then come the grounds. A pool and a tennis court share space with a koi pond and a wide lawn that the listing says was once a croquet field. Garden paths wind past oak trees, Deodar cedars, which are large evergreens, and rose gardens.