A historic home perched on a seaside bluff is the latest addition to Brad Pitt’s impressive real estate portfolio, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Ad Astra star, who is something of an architecture aficionado and even narrated the Frank Lloyd Wright documentary Unity Temple in 2020, paid $40 million for the majestic abode, known as the D.L. James House after the American writer who commissioned its design in 1918.
Located in the Carmel Highlands of California, the Craftsman-style house was designed by Charles Sumner Greene, who along with his brother, Henry, made up the influential 20th-century architecture firm Greene and Greene. Proponents of the Arts and Crafts movement, the pair were known for their “ultimate bungalows,” which were large American Craftsman interpretations of the bungalow style that often included furniture and other interior details custom designed with the home and greater geographical location in mind.
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A departure from the typical mahogany and teak wooden compositions designed by Greene and Greene, the D.L. James House, also known as the “Seaward,” was built with locally sourced sandstone and granite. As a result, the imposing manse blends seamlessly with the surrounding cliffs. A Mediterranean-inspired tiled roof and arched windows enhance the exterior. Inside, local flora and fauna such as gulls, seaweed, and seashells are incorporated into carved marble details, according to Gamble House, an organization dedicated to the work of the Greene brothers.
The cliffside property was previously owned since 1999 by an LLC linked to Chicago Research and Trading founder Joe Ritchie, who died earlier this year. The sale reportedly marks one of the most expensive real estate deals ever made in the Carmel area, where the former beachside home of Golden Girls star Betty White sold last April for $10.775 million, at $2.825 million over the asking price.