Though Ezra Callahan is hardly a household name, his resume is certainly impressive, dating back to the earliest days of Facebook — when Callahan was one of the first six employees hired to create what would eventually become the world’s largest social media platform, with more than 2.8 billion active users and a trillion-dollar market cap. The Stanford grad left Facebook in 2012 with .08% of Facebook’s total shares — a stake that could be worth a whopping $800 million today — to co-found Arrive Hotels & Restaurants, which was acquired earlier this year by boutique hotelier PaliSociety. And so he’s easily got enough pocket change to purchase this extravagant Mediterranean-style estate in Pasadena, where he’s long resided.
Records reveal Callahan and wife Marisa, also an ex-Facebook employee, purchased their new five-bedroom, six-bath home for $13.3 million — quite a discount, considering the asking price was originally $15.4 million in March before it was slashed to $13.7 million in July. Originally designed by architect Kirtland Cutter, the property was built way back in 1929 for Walden Shaw, a Chicago auto dealer who had a hand in launching the Yellow Cab Co. Also occupied through the years by businessman and philanthropist Henry Braun and Dodgers pitcher/analyst Orel Hershiser. The most recent owner was J. Terrence (Terry) Lanni, the former chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage and a prominent thoroughbred horse owner, who died in 2011 at age 68.
Nestled securely behind gates, on a 1.7-acre parcel overlooking the gorgeous Huntington Library grounds, the traditional two-story residence has been well-maintained but could stand a historically sensitive update. Fronted by a spacious brick motorcourt and a four-car garage equipped with a workshop, the estate offers picturesque mountain views. The main residence features 9,000-plus square feet of ornate living space, with additional structures including a guesthouse with its own two-car garage, a caretaker’s apartment and a poolhouse.
The listing was held by Maureen Hollingsworth of Sotheby’s International Realty, with the buyers repped by Carol Chua of Coldwell Banker Realty.
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Image Credit: Redfin An expansive foyer flows into a main level highlighted by formal living and dining rooms; both have fireplaces, and French doors that spill out onto an enclosed patio sporting plenty of room for al fresco dining and entertaining alongside a bubbling fountain.
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Image Credit: Redfin Located off a hallway are a handsome wood-paneled library with a fireplace and an elegant wallpapered powder room.
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Image Credit: Redfin An updated gourmet kitchen featuring high-end Viking, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances is tucked away next to a butler’s pantry, a separate breakfast area and a cozy family room.
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Image Credit: Redfin Upstairs, the sumptuous master retreat is outfitted with a separate living room/office space, plus dual dressing rooms and baths. Three more bedrooms also can be found on the top floor, while a basement level hosts a massive wine cellar.
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Image Credit: Redfin Outdoors, the resort-like grounds hold a large pool and spa surrounded by a sun deck and the aforementioned poolhouse, as well as a lighted north-south tennis court, putting green and rose garden.
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Image Credit: Redfin A Pasadena native, Callahan and his wife reportedly maintain another Pasadena-area home they purchased about three years ago for a little over $4 million and have since remodeled to the tune of about $1.8 million, along with a 1.5-acre parcel of land in La Canada Flintridge the couple acquired in 2015 for $3 million.
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