Dr. Seuss' House, Encelia Drive, La Jolla, California
The second time's the charm. That must be what the University of California Regents are hoping as they've put the Dr. Seuss house on the market again after initially listing it in 2022. None of the bids offered in 2022 were accepted.
The estate was offered with three unbuilt parcels that did sell, but the 5,000 square foot home on 1.5 acres is still up for grabs. Each time it's listed it inspires lots of rhyming comments like "I can't get them on the phone. I can't afford the mortgage loan."
It offers incredible views from its perch on Mount Soledad -- and that's how the house started, as an observation tower built in 1923. Architect Thomas Shepherd designed a house around it for Theodor Seuss Geisel and his wife Helen in 1950.
By that point Geisel had already written eight books, so his style preferences were pretty well established.
The Cat in the Hat door must have been added after 1957.
Since the house hasn't changed between listings, there aren't a lot of new photos, (and there weren't many in either listing) but that's okay because we have old ones!
Here you can get a better look at the tower and how it was incorporated into the house:
{With his first wife Helen in 1957, source}
It has four bedrooms and four baths as well as a pool house.
The house was gifted by his widow Audrey Geisel's estate to the University of California, San Diego in 2019. This still shot from a video tour shows the empty foyer:
To the left is this spacious living room:
If it were mine, I'd give a tip of the hat to Seuss with my light fixtures and curvy furniture, like this:
{Actor Christopher Lloyd's house, source}
Christopher Lloyd has a similar fireplace, but the Geisel one appears to be a little more exaggerated:
The two photos below are from 1978, but I'm not certain if the same living room is being pictured:
{source}
The kitchen shot is from a more recent video:
The drawer handles are shaped like spoons, knives and forks.
The master bedroom appears to be just as spacious as the living room:
This most recent photo shows just how untouched the space has remained:
The ensuite bathroom offers pink sinks and a pink tub with swan faucets:
I imagine this will someday be changed...maybe to look a little more like this:
Two things that can't be changed -- Geisel's former office and the original tower. They were designated historic by the San Diego Historical Resources Board and must remain intact.
The office has a secret door behind the bookcase below:
The good thing is that the space doesn't seem to need a lot to improve it.
It was a lot more colorful back when Geisel worked there.
{source}
The walls were decorated with his art and with taxidermy creatures he created from things his father, a zoo curator, had sent him.
He found plenty of inspiration outside of his tower, too:
The pool bottom features a Cat in the Hat bowtie:
The Geisels were active in their community, and Dr. Seuss clearly took inspiration from his surroundings:
The Monterey Cypress and Canary Island Dragon trees at Kate Sessions park...
the Hotel del Coronado and its Dragon tree...
{"I Dreamed I was a Doorman at the Hotel Del Coronado" 1970, source}
Makes you wonder what he would have created if he had seen France's Bubble Palace -- it's not all that dissimilar from his own home!
{source}
I've started work on the miniature country house set from I Love Lucy season 6. The first video is here.
