The success of the CW’s “Riverdale” has made budding real estate barons out of the show’s entire cast. Over the past year or two, nearly all of its youthful stars have picked up stunning new homes in the greater L.A. area. Camila Mendes scored a Silver Lake bungalow, Madelaine Petsch went for a chic Outpost Estates outpost, Charles Melton got a quirk-filled Silver Lake compound, Lili Reinhart scooped up a Spanish-style Encino home and KJ Apa bought renovated Nichols Canyon digs.
Now joining them on their real-life real estate quest is Cole Sprouse, better known to “Riverdale” fans as the town’s hot-tempered nonconformist Jughead Jones, who’s paid nearly $3 million for a striking modernist residence deep in the Hollywood Hills. With four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 2,500-square-foot structure makes a plenty spacious bachelor pad, but that’s only a small part of its unique story.
Not only is the Sprouse house pretty darn stylish, it also boasts a bonafide architectural pedigree. Originally built in 1949 for “Mr. Magoo” co-creator Millard Kaufman, the property was a rare collaboration between three exceptionally skilled midcentury architects: Richard Neutra, the lesser-known Alexander Ban, and modernist specialist Josef Van der Kar. In the mid-’50s, several years after the house was completed, Kaufman again hired Neutra to expand the home’s lower level, which currently holds the master suite.
Kaufman held onto the house for nearly 50 years, finally selling in ’97. The property subsequently passed through several non-famous owners, though it was briefly owned by noted architecture preservationist Michael LaFetra in the early 2000s. Last sold in 2016 for $2.3 million, the house underwent a significant restoration in 2017. The owner refinished the hardwood floors, installed a brand-new kitchen and updated all the bathrooms.