• Home
  • About
    • Brian Ades Press
    • Testimonials
    • The Sotheby’s Experience
    • FAQs
  • Trust & Estate Sales
    • Trust and Estate Planning
    • Role of the Trustee
    • Selling A Family Home
  • Active Listings
  • Sold Listings
  • Seller Services
    • World Class Marketing
    • Trust & Estate Planning
    • Selling A Family Home
  • Buyer Services
  • Neighborhoods
    • Beachwood Canyon
    • Beverly Hills
    • BHPO
    • Cahuenga Pass
    • Franklin Hills
    • Hancock Park
    • Hollywood Foothills
    • Lake Hollywood
    • Laurel Canyon
    • Los Feliz
    • Malibu
    • Mount Olympus
    • Nichols Canyon
    • North Hollywood
    • Outpost Estates
    • Pacific Palisades
    • Santa Monica
    • Sherman Oaks
    • Silver Lake
    • Studio City
    • Studio City Hills
    • Sunland Tujunga
    • Sunset Strip
    • Toluca Lake
    • Venice
    • West Hollywood
    • West LA
    • Wilshire Vista
    • Woodland Hills
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Brian Ades Legacies of L.A.

Incredible Sales | Incredible Stories

Call 310.503.8080
Email Brian@LegaciesofLA.com
8616 Allenwood Road
Featured Listing

8616 Allenwood Road

An Adventure in Wonderland

Story Posted On: October 28, 2017

Nestled in the Hollywood Hills West between Laurel and Coldwater Canyons and just above the Sunset Strip, this significant mid-century home, designed by Case Study architect, Thornton Abell, was built in 1959 for Dr. Augustus Bakos, a prominent heart surgeon.

A stunning example of mid-century modern design at its best, the four-bedroom, four-bath home is 3,212 sq. ft. and sits on more than an acre of land in a hidden canyon with tree top views. Asking price is $2.95 million.

8616 Allenwood Road driveway

The home has been faithfully restored and updated by architect Tony Unruh of Unruh Boyer, an architecture, interior design and planning firm with offices in the historic Ain/Garrot building in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Other noted restoration projects include properties by Gregory Ain and Greta Grossman.

Unruh’s love of the mid-century style is apparent in the impeccable finished product:          

“Restoring and working on these Modernist icons is sometimes challenging because you don’t want to destroy the original architect’s intent. On the other hand, their rigid structural order—in this particular case, the double square dimensions—give a clear directive to creating a seamless solution. Most often after completing additions to these homes, in spite of the fact that they are clearly different to the original house, the result has been so organic most people don’t realize the house has changed at all.”

— Tony Unruh, architect

8616 Allenwood Road couch

The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine which commissioned major architects of the day including Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood, Pierre Koenig, and Charles and Ray Eames to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the housing boom at the end of World War II.

Case Study House #22 The Stahl House Hollywood Hills Peter Koenig 1959

Case Study House #8 The Eames House Pacific Palisades Charles Eames 1949

One of the youngest architects in the project, Abell, a graduate of USC, was commissioned to design CHS#7 only two years after opening his own private practice.

He went on to design some of the most significant homes in the Los Angeles area including his personal residence in Rustic Canyon.

Thornton Abel House Rustic Canyon Santa Monica 1937

Thornton Abel House Rustic Canyon Santa Monica 1937

Thornton Abel House Rustic Canyon Santa Monica 1937

8616 Allenwood Road, lies in the wooded area west of Laurel Canyon in a secluded neighborhood. Christened Wonderland Park by developers at the turn of the century, the area was originally home to wild life—bears, pumas, and coyotes—before the wild life of Hollywood moved up into the hills. Actors, artists, and musicians, and free spirits were drawn to the intimate, pastoral area and have been ever since giving the arty neighborhood a reputation as a bohemian enclave.

8616 Allenwood Road living area

8616 Allenwood Road embraces the best of mid-century modern design with its spacious open floor plan, natural light, and walls of glass.

8616 Allenwood Road entry

A lush garden atrium leads you past a skylight lit desert garden and into the spacious home.

8616 Allenwood Road chandeleir

Floor to ceiling walls of glass, terrazzo floors, and Palos Verdes stonework bring the outdoors inside, the mission statement of mid-century architecture.

8616 Allenwood Road dining

And custom designed divider screens and beautiful teak cabinetry add natural color to the soothing neutral palette.

8616 Allenwood Road tv8616 Allenwood Road office

The beautiful stainless steel and granite chef’s kitchen is state of the art yet folds seamlessly into the design sensibility of the period.

8616 Allenwood Road kitchenkitchen bar8616 Allenwood Road kitchen dining

The spectacular master suite has a stone fireplace, terrazzo master bath with glass ceiling, and a huge walk-in closet.

8616 Allenwood Road master bedroom8616 Allenwood Road master and pool 8616 Allenwood Road master bath 8616 Allenwood Road shower8616 Allenwood Road walkin closet

The three other bedrooms in the house are impeccably designed using the natural beauty of indigenous California plants outside for decoration like original works of art.

8616 Allenwood Road bedroom 2 8616 Allenwood Road bathroom 3 8616 Allenwood Road bedroom 3 8616 Allenwood Road bedroom 4

Centrally located between downtown and the beach, the property affords residents privacy and proximity with some of the best views in the city.

8616 Allenwood Road patio firepalce 8616 Allenwood Road house at night

With its natural beauty and acclaimed architecture, 8616 Allenwood Road definitely makes living in Wonderland an adventure.

Listing Courtesy of Joyce Rey, Johnny Schell – Coldwell Banker

Neighborhood: Laurel Canyon Categories: Architectural, Pool

What's my home worth?

Call BrianEmail Brian

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Personal, professional, effective.

Seller Services

Sellers

  • Seller Services
  • Sold Listings
  • Marketing
  • FAQs

Buyers

  • Buyer Services
  • Active Listings

Trusts & Estates

  • Trust & Estate Sales
  • Planning
  • Role of the Trustee
  • Selling A Family Home

Legacies of L.A.
Sotheby's International Realty:
Sunset Strip Brokerage
9255 Sunset Blvd., Mezzanine
West Hollywood, CA 90069
SIR CalBre#: 1347985

PHONE: 310.503.8080
EMAIL: Brian@LegaciesofLA.com
CONTACT FORM >>

Site Map | Privacy Policy | Legacies of L.A. © 2023
This website is not the official website of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. does not make any representation or warranty regarding any information, including without limitation its accuracy or completeness, contained on this web site. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractors and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Sotheby’s International Realty CalBRE#: 899496