Riviera Ranch property sells to landmark home
By Dolores Quintana
In Brentwood, the third California Ranch Style home that was designed by celebrated California designer Cliff May was recently sold for $7.2 million as reported by Forbes.com. The home is located in the Riviera Ranch equestrian development of Brentwood and is the first home built as part of that area.
May lived in the home himself and it was later purchased by acting couple Robert Wagner and Jill St. John. The City of Los Angeles has begun the process of declaring the home a historical landmark and the home has been dubbed “the most important ranch house in America.”
Cliff May never formally studied architecture or registered as a licensed architect after creating the first California Ranch home in 1932. He was born in San Diego and even without formal training or licensing, his second home was featured in Architectural Digest and he went on to design homes in places as far away as Australia, Ireland and Switzerland. He also designed commercial buildings and more than a thousand custom designed homes. His prototype designs for model homes translated into his designs being used for more than eighteen thousand tract homes.
