This historic home, originally designed in 1911 by venerated architects Charles and Henry Greene, is probably as close to a residential time machine as you’re liable to find. The Asian-influenced, Craftsman-style structure was built for the eldest of three unmarried sisters and is generally known as the “Cordelia A. Culbertson House” in honor of its first owner, though it’s also been called “il Paradiso.” More notably, the house was the very last joint residential commission for the Greene brothers.
In 1917, the house was sold to Elisabeth Severence, a wealthy oil heiress and widow of prominent surgeon and art patron Dudley Allen, who summered there with her second husband Francis Prentiss during the chilly Ohio winters. More recently, the landmark property came into the hands of “Avengers: Endgame” director Anthony Russo and his wife Ann, who acquired it in 2018 for $5.8 million — adding to their collection of historic Pasadena homes that also includes the 1913 Marston & Van Pelt-designed Arden Villa (more commonly known as the “Dynasty” mansion for its famously televised lily pad fight between Krystle and Alexis Carrington).
Earlier this month, the Russos resold the historic house. The new owner: Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper and his wife Nancy, who doled out $6.3 million — a whopping $250,000 over the asking price — for the meticulously renovated and preserved house that still sports many of its original Asian and Italian design details, including 130-plus windows (Coopers, stock up on Windex!), restored oak herringbone floors, the original Greene and Greene woodwork, and a dark green-tiled roof with red accents.
Found in the prestigious Oak Knoll District and an easy walk to the prestigious Langham hotel, the house served as the ninth annual Pasadena Showcase House and has regularly been part of the annual Pasadena Heritage tour; it’s also been characterized by Greene and Greene scholar Randell Makinson as “one of the most sensitively developed and minutely detailed houses ever produced in this country.” Inside, 8,000-plus square feet of U-shaped living space on two levels wraps around a central courtyard and garden, complete with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, plus panoramic mountain vistas.
The listing was held by Holly Purcell of Compass and Crosby Doe of Crosby Doe Associates; Scott Lyle of Compass repped Cooper.