Nifty ’50s Time Capsule in Sherman Oaks Available for First Time in 53 Years

Making its first appearance on the market in over 50 years, this Sherman Oaks residence has hardly changed a bit since being built in 1959. Located a little north of Mulholland Drive in the southwest corner of the affluent San Fernando Valley suburb, it was originally constructed for Bill Muster, then an executive at Capitol Records. In addition to his career in the music industry, Muster was a photojournalist — he photographed the Nuremberg Trials for the U.S. military — and publisher of travel guides such as “The World Traveler’s Almanac.”

In 1970, Muster and his wife split up, and the home was sold to its second owners, Russell O’Neill, the dean of UCLA’s school of engineering, and his wife, Sallie, a sculptor and course coordinator at UCLA. The home has been in the hands of the O’Neill family ever since.

Sited on a diamond-shaped corner lot, the house contains three bedrooms and three baths within its 2,350 square feet. Its use of frosted glass panels and steel framing calls to mind the work of Case Study architects Pierre Koenig and Craig Ellwood. Along with vaulted tongue-and-groove ceilings, an open floor plan, and the requisite walls of glass, notable interior features include a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace, globe light fixtures and oodles of built-in storage. Outside, there’s a swimming pool, custom concrete firepit, and two-car attached carport with additional storage.

On an 8,019-square-foot parcel, the well-preserved property is being offered in a trust sale with an asking price of $1.8 million. Nancy Sanborn and Brian Joy of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties are representing the listing.