Philanthropist Howard Ahmanson once owned this sprawling 1920s estate. Hancock Park already had emerged as a neighborhood for the well-heeled when in 1925 Frederick S. Albertson, an automobile company executive, bought a sprawling piece of real estate there. Primary construction of this two-story manor, designed by Alexander D. Chisholm, was completed in 1929. Early neighbors included the Chandlers, the Huntingtons, the Van de Kamps and the Dohenys.

Home Savings & Loan president Howard F. Ahmanson, the financier, philanthropist and art collector, moved with his family into the spacious house in 1958. His second wife, Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson, gained full title to the house in 1971; it was sold in 1975. Howard Ahmanson supported, mong many local institutions, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. A vast art collection was on display to the public when the family hosted charitable events at the house.

Although the gated estate is striking for the home’s interior, three of Hancock Park’s largest and oldest oak trees thrive outdoors amid magnolia, olive, Chinese elm, pomegranate and citrus trees, and 25 species of old and rare roses. The latter are insured for nearly six figures.