Riviera White House Revival

By ERIKA MARTIN | Reporter

The property at 1669 San Onofre Drive once saw a struggling, middle-aged actor become President of the United States.

Now, the so-called Riviera White House where Ronald and Nancy Reagan lived with their family from 1957 until 1981, has been completed renovated from the ground up. Husband-and-wife team Janus Cercone and Michael Manheim of Jaman Properties bought the property for $5.2 million in 2013 and spun the dated, mid-century modern home into a $33 million Spanish Revival residence.

Much like the Reagan residence equipped by General Electric to be the “home of the future,” the new 12,000-square-foot structure (including guesthouse) was designed to offer every modern convenience imaginable. Its most striking feature, however, remains its 270-degree view extending from Griffith Park to Catalina—the same vantage point Reagan originally fell in love with while on a hiking excursion.

When Cercone and Manheim first acquired the house virtually everything remained intact from Reagan days. The couple initially planned to renovate the original house, but the city’s building code complicated the logistics.

“We always try to listen to the property and what it’s saying to us about what it’s supposed to be,” Cercone said. “But with the regulations it just made no sense at all to redevelop it, so we started from the ground up.”

Cercone pointed out that what was most significant about the house had to do with who lived in it rather than its architectural merits.

“Somebody came here as an actor and something happening on this property that changed the trajectory of his life and the lives of so many others,” she said, so she and Manheim created the space as a retreat for a character on a path toward glory.

The pair tried to “forensically save anything of historical value,” especially its kitchen appliances, which were state-of-the-art for the time and furbished by GE as a demonstration of its next-generation technology such as garbage disposals and electric egg beaters. The items were offered to the Smithsonian, Ronald Reagan Library and GE headquarters, but found no takers. Nancy Reagan’s appliances eventually wound up being donated to Habitat for Humanity.

A few items have been preserved in the house. The door of the shower Reagan was in when he got a call from Jimmy Carter to congratulate him on winning the 1980 Presidential election is in a bathroom off the library, although the rest of the room around it received updates such as cashmere-lined walls.

Additionally, the living room bar area where Reagan gathered Nancy and other trusted advisers when he made his decision to run for President was refurbished. Though updated to include a small fridge and ice maker, it maintains its original design, including mid-century knobs and light fixtures.

The Reagans were known for their generous entertaining—a tradition that extended from the Palisades to the White House—and Cercone and Manheim ensured the new home was equipped for the same. The Reagans’ film projector has been swapped out for a 15-person screening room and the picturesque backyard features outdoor dining space for 30.

Although Nancy and Ronald may not have recognized the new face of their 30-year home, Cercone said their daughter, Patti, who was raised there, was kept in the loop and on board with the plans. “She hasn’t seen it yet, though,” Cercone said. “We want to let everything settle a bit before that happens.”

There are still enough modern features to make the current structure a home of the future. While the circuit breaker panel is no longer the size of a garage door, the home now has an elevator, Nest thermostat, Sonos whole-house sound system and Total Control processor.

Other high-end touches include a bathroom wallpapered with 25,000 peacock feathers applied by hand over gold leaf, a 2,000-bottle wine cellar, a salt-water pool with an “invisible” glass-walled spa, microwave towel warmers and an $80,000 Officine Gullo kitchen stove.

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Address: 1669 San Onofre Dr., Pacific Palisades

Price: $33,000,000

Realtors: David Offer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Phone: 310-820-9341

Contact: info@DavidOffer.com

Website: jamanproperties.com