Pasadena's Harwell Hamilton Harris Masterpiece Lists As Twofer

SIERRA MADRE, CA — Architecture buffs will recognize this as the 1949 J.J. Mulvihill house designed by midcentury architect Harwell Hamilton Harris. For the remarkably affordable price of $1,590,000, this architectural gem comes with the Lyle Design Studio, designed by John T. Lyle in 1986.

Nestled into the San Gabriel Mountains, the three-story home juts horizontally out the mountains like a ship cutting through the water.

According to Realtor.com, "Real estate agent Barbara Lamprecht, who's also a writer and teacher in architectural history, described it as "an ocean liner poised on a promontory ... a powerful horizontal form against its mountainous backdrop. Its prow of glass, grey-green painted redwood, and red brick sails into space high above its hillside landscape and the unending carpet known as greater Los Angeles."

The home boasts an al fresco living room, three bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.

The home is owned by Lyles widow Harriett Lyle, who says it's famously quiet and serene except for the visits from bears, which routinely drink from the Koi pond. The studio, built by her husband, the regenerative architect designer of landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, faces south into the woodlands and includes a bathroom and a bedroom.

• Address: 580 N Hermosa Ave, Sierra Madre, California
• Price: $1,590,000
• Square Feet: 2002
• Bedrooms: 3
• Bathrooms: 4 Full and 1 Half Baths
• Built: 1949
• Features: Harwell Hamilton Harris, FAIA, 1949; John T. Lyle, AIA, FASLA, 1986. The J.J. Mulvihill Residence and Lyle Design Studio. Like an ocean liner poised on a promontory, the Mulvihill residence is a powerful horizontal form against its mountainous backdrop. Its prow of glass, grey-green painted redwood, and red brick sails into space high above its hillside landscape and the the unending carpet known as greater Los Angeles. Designed by master architect Harwell Hamilton Harris in 1949, the 2,000-square-foot, three-level home celebrates Harris's multivalent approach to architecture. Lyle's two-story studio/office/guest suite demonstrates his belief in regenerative building design. In deference to the Harris building above, the studio is located to the side of the site. Lyle oriented the windows to face south into the oak woodland, rather than up to the potentially looming house, and used an elongated, red-stained concrete terrace to bridge hillside and building. Given the studio's sharp roof angles and apparently random custom windows of all shapes and sizes, at first glance the studio is a far cry from to Harris's calm, boxy volume above. Yet upon further study, the studio handsomely conforms with Harris's design and the natural environment.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.