The L.A. landscape is chock full of unique, extravagant and over-the-top properties – see the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills, Frank Gehry’s Santa Monica pad, the Chemosphere in Hollywood Hills West . . . the list goes on and on! You can’t shake a stick in this town, it seems, without hitting someplace extraordinary! But it is not every day you come across a residence shaped like the hull of a ship poking out of the Los Angeles hillside. Just such a dwelling exists above the Mulholland Corridor in Bel Air, though, and not only has it graced both the big and small screens, but it is currently seeking a buyer!
The singular property, which stands like a beacon at 15105 Mulholland Dr., has actually floated on and off the market on a fairly regular basis ever since last changing hands in 1999. Known as the Bel Air Yacht Mansion and the Mulholland Drive Boat House, the structure was designed by architects Glen Howard Small and Michael Rendler for Daniel Hafid, the then vice president of the Rene of Paris wig company who went on to establish Follea International.
At the time of its inception, the residence was outfitted with a decidedly drab grey exterior resembling concrete, which gave it a much less ship-like appearance than its current sleek white façade. But the slab-look was fabricated. As Small explains on his website, the veneer was actually stucco fashioned with a “smooth trowel cement finish.”
Completed in 1992, the five-bedroom, eight-bath property is being offered by Yar Meshkaty of Coldwell Banker Realty – Beverly Hills for $7.95 million – a significant price reduction from the $12.9 million it was listed at in 2019.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills Featuring an open floor plan bounded by glass walls offering 300-degree views of the surrounding landscape, the residence feels leagues larger than its already massive 10,463 square feet.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills Smooth cresting lines seamlessly carry the nautical theme from the outside in, where virtually every wall is rounded and every opening arched.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills The 26-room abode’s list of amenities is seemingly endless and includes such luxuries as an elevator, two kitchens, a billiards lounge, a wine cellar, a gym, a bar and a soundproof theatre complete with white leather seating.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills An entertainer’s paradise, the 0.5-acre surroundings feature 2,500 square feet of outdoor deck space, an upper-level fire pit and, most importantly, a bow area where those who are so inclined can belt out “I’m the king of the world!”
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills The home’s crown jewel, though, is its 46-foot color-changing lap pool which runs the length of the bow, is capped by a hot tub and overlooks what the listing calls “breathtaking and unobstructed jetliner” views of the city below.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills Considering the scale of luxury the property offers, it is no surprise it has been rented by a slew of celebrities over the years. According to the Daily Mail, Harry Styles and his fellow One Direction members stayed there during the last week of the North American leg of their 2013 Take Me Home tour. English model Katie Price and then-husband, singer Peter Andre, leased the home in 2008, per Virtual Globetrotting. And Curbed Los Angeles attests that Prince rented the pad for a time but curiously never lived on the premises. The residence has also been the site of numerous celebrity parties including soirees for both the Oscars and the Grammys. And it is, of course, a filming location.
The Los Angeles Times described Glen Small as “a young lion of Southern California architecture in the early 1970s, influencing culture as dynamically as Spielberg and Lucas did with their films.” So it is only fitting that his ship-like creation wound up onscreen.
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Image Credit: Coldwell Banker Realty - Beverly Hills The estate’s most famous appearance was in 2002 when it was utilized as the Idol Mansion on the first season of the Fox singing competition series “American Idol.” It was there that a then-unknown Kelly Clarkson and her fellow top ten finalists were put up while competing on the show.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The pad appeared throughout the season in various behind-the-scenes vignettes showing the contestants hanging out, whether it be singing “California Dreamin’” by the fire pit or washing cars in the eight-car motor court. The property was also extensively chronicled in a special “Inside the Idol Mansion” featurette on the “American Idol: The Search for a Superstar” DVD.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com During their stay, Kelly and contestants Tamyra Grey and Christina Christian shared the pad’s spacious drop-down owners’ suite, which is outfitted with “dual spa-like baths,” walk-in closets and a private patio with its own hot tub. As the listing photos attest, much of the room’s furniture remains in place from the days when the women called it home almost 20 years ago.
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Image Credit: Interscope Records Other productions to utilize the property include Eve’s 2002 “Gansta Lovin’” music video, which also featured Alicia Keys.
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Image Credit: Showtime Sue Collini (Kathleen Turner) calls the place home – and throws a wild party there attended by Hank Moody (David Duchovny) – in the season three episode of “Californication” titled “Slow Happy Boys,” which aired in 2009. As Hank’s friend Mike Zlozowski (Kevin Corrigan) notes upon descending the pad’s curving staircase in the episode, the place gives off some definite “Scarface” vibes.
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Image Credit: CBS Films It’s the residence where Angela (Olga Kurylenko) lives in the 2012 comedy crime film “Seven Psychopaths.”
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Image Credit: Bravo Real estate agent Josh Altman scores the home as his latest listing in the season six episode of “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” fittingly titled “All Aboard.” Of the massive revenue generated from the various shoots that have taken place there, Josh says that his client didn’t buy the property as “an investment but it kinda ended up becoming a cash cow because she probably makes about $700,000 a year just filming there.” His enthusiasm for the pad’s prolific onscreen career quickly wanes, though, when a film crew swoops in offering the owner $320,000 to lease the place for four months, thereby losing him the listing. When he learns the unfortunate news, he laments that “only in L.A. does this happen” and jokingly asks if the production being filmed is “Titanic 2.”
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Image Credit: Warner Bros. The manse also hosted Jason Derulo and Snoop Dogg for the filming of their 2014 “Wiggle” music video.
Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.