After actress, comedian and writer Kristen Wiig sold her cozy Los Feliz home this summer, we assumed she was heading to a $1.7 million house she owned near the Silver Lake Reservoir.
But the Saturday Night Live alum apparently had other plans, as she’s purchased a historically and architecturally significant Pasadena residence, known as Case Study House #10.
Wiig paid $2.96 million for the four-bedroom, four-bathroom abode, which is part of the Case Study House Program that started in 1945 and was sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine. The program was implemented after World War II, when architects were brought in to construct easily built, inexpensive model homes to try and deal with the housing boom.
The Case Study Program involved many of the most well-known architects of the post-World War II era, including Pierre Koenig, Eero Saarinen and Craig Ellwood. Not all of the 36 home designs were built, and many of the ones that were have been extensively remodeled (or demolished altogether) to a point beyond recognition.
Wiig’s new 3,425-square-foot mid-century abode is the only Case Study house in Pasadena; others are located elsewhere in California, including one in the Hollywood Hills, another in Altadena and also Toluca Lake, plus a single house that was built in Arizona. Father-and-son team Kemper Nomland and Kemper Nomland, Jr. built this Pasadena residence, in the San Rafael area, in 1947. It’s an open floor plan, with walls of glass that let light flow in, as well as quite a few patios.
The horizontal wood-framed residence was designed to follow the sloped nature of the property lot, per the listing shared by Cynthia Luczyski and Lauren Luczyski of Deasy/Penner Real Estate. It’s also on the National Register of Historic Places.
The previous owners did quite a bit of work to the house, mostly in order to restore it to its original glory—there are hardwood floors, a redone (yet rather dated) kitchen and an airy, flowing look to the main rooms.
There’s a brick fireplace in the open living room, and outside there’s a pool and spa. And while there was an extensive remodel and renovation courtesy of its last occupants, it still retains much of the mid-century allure and historic nature—indeed, the sellers were the recipients of a Historic Preservation Award from Pasadena in 2015.