Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Oceanfront Home Sells for Record Price

Though Frank Lloyd Wright’s eye-catching Circular Sun House in the Arizona desert remains up for sale, the legendary architect’s one-and-only oceanfront home, on Carmel Point near the California enclave of Carmel-by-the-Sea, has just sold for its exact asking price of $22 million, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That’s the most ever paid for a Wright-designed home, eclipsing the $18 million Ennis House in Los Angeles.

Crafted to resemble a ship’s bow cutting through water — a nod to Wright’s penchant for melding buildings with their natural surroundings — the Usonian-style cottage was commissioned in 1945 by Pebble Beach artist Della Walker, the widow of Minneapolis lumber executive Clinton Walker; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Records show the buyer is Monaco-based billionaire real estate investor and developer Patrice Pastor of Esperanza Carmel LLC, who acquired the house from descendants of the original owner. The eye-popping deal clocks in at nearly $16,000 per square foot.

Completed in 1952, the “Mrs. Clinton Walker House” — also known as “Cabin on the Rocks” — is hewn from cedar, Carmel stone, painted steel, copper, concrete and glass, and has 1,400 square feet of single-level living space, all of it overlooking sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, Carmel Bay and Pebble Beach.

Nestled atop a rocky promontory, on a triangular parcel of land spanning nearly a quarter-acre, the striking coastal dwelling is highlighted by a hexagonal living/dining area sporting a floor-to-ceiling fireplace and built-in furnishings.

A vintage kitchen is outfitted with red countertops and stainless appliances; and all of the bedrooms can be found in the rear of the home, with a studio addition tacked on in the late 1950s later converted into a fireside primary suite. There’s also a small beach.

The listing was held by Jessica Canning of Canning Properties Group of Sotheby’s International Realty; Tim Allen Properties Team of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury repped the buyer.