Entertainer’s Estate for Sale

Experiencing special architectural homes in person is key to understanding their essence, and how the structures relate to their surroundings.

Lucky me. We recently got an invite for a tour of an unusual custom steel masterwork by architect A. Quincy Jones in Pasadena. We jumped on the opportunity with excitement.

Winding up a private road to a cul-de-sac with an open concourse, the home reveals itself, its asymmetrical roofline a striking sight among towering pines and mature eucalyptus trees.

Commissioned in 1976 by Iowa lumber heiress and patron of the arts Adelaide Hixon and her diplomat husband, Alexander Hixon, the multi-story structure was designed specifically as an entertainment house on what was the Hixons' 3.3-acre estate at that time.

While hosting parties and fundraising events at 1100 Paso Alto Road, the philanthropist couple lived next door at the estate's main house, a 1954 home designed by architect Thornton Ladd.

Listed by Aram Gaboudian of Keller Williams Realty, the 7,141-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 5-bath Paso Alto residence is a tour de force of late modernism, and priced at $5.999 million.

Stepping inside, the house has a larger-than-life feel, like a hotel, and cavernous in some areas. Susan Inaba, the current owner, demostrated the dumbwaiter for us, as well as a built-in projector and screen that rolls down at the press of a button. Among the original features are genuine hardwood floors made of walnut, with a beautiful, end-cut grain pattern.

As we walked through the house appreciating the master architect's work, Inaba pointed out, "What's really interesting is how he [architect A. Quincy Jones] even rounded the edges of the steel, giving it a softness, a livability."

At the center of the home is a double-height living room, with soaring 35-foot ceilings, filled with natural light and a floating fireplace. As impressive as that experience is, stepping into the dining room then reveals jaw-dropping views of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains and an overhead view of the Rose Bowl, all through transparent walls of glass.

"We're the only people who have ever lived here," Inaba explains.

"After her husband died, Mrs. Hixon lived until she was 101, and at around age 90 decided it was too big a property, neighbors have told me, so she sold off the main house and guest house."

Eventually Mrs. Hixon subdivided the lot, leaving an endowment to Harvey Mudd College in Claremont. The college sold the primary residence separately from the entertainment house in October 2021.