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Ronald Reagan Lived Here: An Inside Tour of His Pre-White House Home

Presidential history buffs can rejoice: One of President Ronald Reagan‘s former homes in Los Angeles (from his acting days) is now for sale for $7 million.

Located at 333 S. Beverly Glen Blvd. in the Little Holmby neighborhood, this 6,153-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-bath—known as the Shuwarger house—is where Reagan lived  in the 1940s while married to his first wife, actress Jane Wyman.

After their divorce in 1949, the property was deeded to Wyman, who remained there until the early 1950s, when she sold it to someone who had knocked on her door saying she’d long admired the home and would like to purchase it. That buyer lived there for 64 years but has since passed away, so her kids are now selling the place.

In addition to its historic and Hollywood cachet, the home has an architectural pedigree. It was built in 1938 by noted architect Paul Williams, who also designed homes for the likes of Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra.

This home gained even more fame points recently on the FX series “Feud: Bette and Joan,” in which it served as the home of actress Joan Crawford (played by Jessica Lange) as she fought to outshine her rival Bette Davis (played by Susan Sarandon).

All told, that amounts to a whole lot of reasons why this house would drum up plenty of interest.

“We’ve had a strong response, with 10 private showings and three open houses in less than a week,” says Christophe Choo, the co-listing broker (with Joyce Essex) at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “One foreign buyer coming in tomorrow collects homes of famous people; his interest is the fact that Ronald owned it. But I wouldn’t say that’s the strongest interest; it’s Paul Williams. That’s the appeal. And they simply love the way the house looks.”

That’s all fine and good—but is it really worth $7 million?

Ronald Reagan’s home: The good, the bad, and the ugly

“As a real estate broker and collector of historic properties, I believe the property will easily sell for the listed price, as the Little Holmby area in Los Angeles has historically been recognized as a highly desirable area with good schools,” says Kelly Parks of Paris Gibson Realty.

“The home is well-kept and historically significant, due to the famous Hollywood elite architect Paul Williams and to its past famous owners,” she adds. “Rarely do real estate brokers in any part of the country see historic properties that have remained in the same hands for 64 years. I would consider this property an heirloom gem.”

“Seven million seems reasonable to start with; many properties in Los Angeles are priced over $10 million,” agrees out Shane Lee, analyst for RealtyHop. “The real question is, though, how long it is going to take for it to sell?”

One potential problem, Lee says, is that the home’s style is a tad passé.

“The Colonial Revival style is no longer trending, and so it might take longer for the perfect buyer to show up,” Lee says. “The décor itself is definitely amazing, matching the architectural style. It is just a bit unfortunate that nowadays people seem to be loving contemporary homes more.”

And the problems with this house might not end with the style itself.

“As a home inspector, I love looking at listing pictures and spotting defects, and this house actually has quite a few that show up,” says Welmoed Sisson, a home inspector at Inspections by Bob in Frederick, MD. “These include unsafe stairways, outdated electrical elements, and it is possibly missing a safety fence around the pool area, although that’s hard to see from the landscaping.”

And that’s just what he can see in the listing photos; what’s not shown could be even worse off. Sisson recommends that anyone purchasing this home do a thorough home inspection and take a good, hard look at “infrastructure details” such as the furnace, water heater, electrical panel—in other words, the stuff that’s rarely showcased in listing photos.

“The home itself is going to need rehabbing,” agrees Los Angeles real estate agent Tony Mariotti at Ruby Home. However, “if a buyer loves Colonial Revival architecture and is patient enough—temperamentally and financially—to endure a full restoration, they’ll be rewarded with a true gem.”

Problems or not, this home is definitely one of a kind.

“There’s no doubt that in the last six to seven years, glass-box modern homes have become popular,” admits Choo. “However, there are always people who like beautiful traditional architecture. It’s iconic. I anticipate that we’ll be getting an offer soon.”

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