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Legendary Landscape Architect Jay Griffith Lists Gorgeous Palisades Mansion

When Oscar-nominated actor Eddie Albert sang “Land spreadin’ out so far and wide … keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside” in the theme song to “Green Acres,” there might have been a dual meaning. Ostensibly he was thinking of the farm he shared with Eva Gabor on TV, but he also might have been referring to his gorgeous Hacienda-style home in Pacific Palisades, CA.

Albert was an environmentalist and had his entire front yard—measuring nearly an acre—planted in corn at one point. Today, the home’s landscaping is a tad more sophisticated, as the property is owned by world-renowned landscape designer and philanthropist Jay Griffith.

Griffith is now ready to move on to greener pastures, and has put the grand estate on the market for $19.5 million.

The house was originally built by John Byers in 1933, for silent-screen star Billie Dove. Griffith went to great lengths to update the home while maintaining its vintage glory.

In the kitchen, for example, he restored the original butter yellow backsplash tiles, and used Douglas fir for the new cabinets and flooring to get the “handmade look and feel” of the originals. He added stainless-steel drawers and appliances as well as warm concrete countertops for an earthy feel.

The 4,818-square-foot house has five bedrooms and 5.5 baths. Carved wood balconies and outdoor pavilions extend the living space.

Rooms of note include a vintage pub, multiple-room master wing, living room with oversize fireplace, and guest/staff suite.

We imagine Albert would have approved of Griffith’s thoughtful renovations. And who better to take on the project? A PBS feature on Griffith describes his fabulous touch with flora: “Sought after by the local and international elite, Jay Griffith’s theatrical gardens are bold, expressive juxtapositions of materials, plants and textures that have garnered him a reputation as enfant terrible of landscape architecture.”

The property is co-listed by Fran Flanagan of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Brett Lawyer of Hilton & Hyland.

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