Located on the west side of the Point Loma peninsula, San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs neighborhood was developed in the 1920s by real estate speculator John P. Mills in partnership with theater magnates Alexander Pantages and Jesse H. Shreve. Having spent a number of holidays in the Mediterranean region, Mills conceived the development as an exclusive resort to rival or even out-do the Riviera. In keeping with this vision, all homes within the community were required to be Spanish/ Mediterranean in design, with stucco facades and tile roofs.
The development got off to a rousing start, but like countless other building projects of that era, it would be derailed by the Great Depression. By 1930, Mills had gone bankrupt and was forced to give up the extravagant Sunset Cliffs villa he’d built for himself and his wife five years earlier. Costing $75,000 to construct, it featured hand-painted gold-leaf ceilings, a tennis court, and swimming pool.
While its founder’s dream of creating California’s version of the Riviera fell far short of being realized, a century after its development, Sunset Cliffs remains one of San Diego’s most desirable enclaves. Currently on the market in the picturesque nabe is an elegant residence awarded historical landmark status by the city in 2013.
The 1927 Mediterranean was designed by Eugene Hoffman, a German-born architect best known for the projects he produced for San Francisco-based sugar baron and Hotel del Coronado owner John D. Spreckels. The house was commissioned by John Steven McGroarty, an LA Times columnist, playwright, California’s poet laureate, and state congressman. Shortly after its completion, however, McGroarty swapped the home for a larger property in the development, one so large that every citizen of San Diego was invited to its housewarming.
The McGroarty residence incurred some less-than-ideal alterations over the years, but in 2011, San Diego architect Lee Hope was brought in to execute a historic restoration. Hope’s meticulous work paid off, winning the home its designation as a city landmark and a Mills Act contract.
Located a few blocks east of the neighborhood’s scenic namesake cliffs and 68-acre nature park, the revived Mediterranean Revival disperses five bedrooms and three and a half baths within its 4,606 square feet. Character details include coved ceilings and niches, hardwood floors, multiple carved-plaster fireplaces, French doors, casement windows, oodles of Spanish tile, and a sexy red staircase with delicate wrought iron railing. Nearly every room has a view of the ocean, and two of the bedrooms are equipped with private balcony decks.
Contributing to the private-resort atmosphere, the home’s grounds are encircled by a tall wall of hedges and feature a dining patio with built-in barbecue and refrigerator, a “social”-size plunge pool, a lavishly tiled fountain, and “jungle-like landscaping.”
Last sold for $3.85 million in 2018, the .4-acre property came on the market in early October with an asking price of $6.4 million, since reduced to $5.45 million. Jeffrey Walker and Matthew Axelson of Agents of Architecture hold the listing.
