Jay Leno now has even more room for his legendary car collection. The former Tonight Show host and his wife, Mavis, paid $13.5 million for a historic estate in Newport, Rhode Island, with plenty of room for his abundance of automobiles.
The 15,851-square-foot house, known as Seafair, was built in 1936 by James Mackenzie, Jr. The estate was originally known as Terre Mare, and was designed for Vernor Zevola Reed Jr., a Denver mining heir and banker who eventually was appointed as the Ambassador to Morocco under President Ronald Reagan.
The gated compound occupies nine acres of coveted oceanfront property; in addition to the 12-bedroom, 13.5-bathroom main home, there’s a tennis court, pool, carriage house and luckily for Leno, a six-car garage. Considering Leno reportedly owns upwards of 150 automobiles, having an additional place to store a few might come in handy.
A formal entry hall leads visitors into the three-story home, which still has original features like the main salon and a formal dining room with Louis XVI details. A chef’s kitchen is open to an additional living area, and there’s a den and a paneled library.
French doors lead to an enclosed loggia, per the listing held by Gustave White Sotheby's International Realty; the brokerage declined to comment on the sale.
The staircase has a wrought iron railing, though there are also two elevators, for lazy days. Eight of the bedrooms suites, as well as a pool room, are located on the upper floors.
The master suite includes a sitting room, double closets, a fireplace, an oceanfront terrace and a marble bathroom.
As hefty as the final purchase price was, Leno actually scored a bit of a deal—the home was last on the market for $19 million.
Leno is joining another famous face in the area—Taylor Swift paid $17.75 million for her oft-Instagrammed Watch Hill house back in 2013. Who knows, maybe the Lenos will be the newest additions to Swift‘s Fourth of July party.