Castillo del Lago Is Indeed For Sale

SELLER: Joe Pytka
LOCATION: Mulholland Highway, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $14,950,000
SIZE: 7,783 square feet, 9 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Legendary 1920s Hollywood Hills estate. This Mediterranean paradise poised on +/-3 acres above Lake Hollywood with unrivaled vistas from Downtown to Catalina is superbly appointed throughout with state-of-the-art amenities. Exquisite craftsmanship with lofty 25’ beamed & coffered ceilings. Beautifully designed kitchen with marble counters, Sub-Zero, O’Keefe & Merit stove. Wine cellar, media room, gym, elevator, sumptuous master ste. Rose gardens, exotic fountains, a terraced courtyard, & pool.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It's official. Just as two tattlers whispered in Your Mama's big ol' ear in late February, the legendary Castillo del Lago estate, currently owned by hairrific commercial director Joe Pytka, has hit the open market with an asking price of $14,950,000.

The house was built in 1926 for oil explorer Patrick Longdon and it is widely believed to have been home to mobster Bugsy Siegel who reportedly used the house as an illegal speakeasy and gambling parlor, natch. In the 1950s, the property fell into a state of disrepair and transferred hands several times until 1993 when it landed in the hands of man-eating superstar Madonna who is, for better or worse, the person responsible for the Ronald McDonald color scheme. With the assistance of her bad-mouthing brother Christopher, Madge spent millions renovating the place. However, shortly after one of her security goons shot a moron attempting to scale a perimeter wall, she sold the place to our Mister Pytka who, according to property records, forked over $5,300,000 for approximately 3-acre ridge top estate on Mulholland Highway.

Property records and listing information show the house measures 7,783 square feet and includes 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms spread out over what we understand is 7 (or possibly 9) floors accessible by both elevator and a vertigo inducing spiral staircase. The living room, with its soaring beamed ceiling, matching chandeliers and zebra striped accents features a fireplace and a row of Palladian style French doors that open to a large terrace with staggering views of Lake Hollywood, the glittery lights of Los Angeles and Catalina Island in the distance.

The long narrow dining room has a tile floor and a honeycomb coffered ceiling and the large, all white kitchen includes marble counter-tops, a vintage O'keefe and Merrit stove and twin SubZero refrigerator/freezers. Other rooms, according to listing information, include a paneled library/billiard room, a narrow and dark looking library space with a couple of rows of floor to ceiling book stacks, a den, home gym, media room and, of course, a wine cellar. Are there any houses in L.A. priced more than five million bucks that don't have a freaking wine cellar? And of course there is the signature tower with 360 degree views of everything everywhere in Los Angeles.

The extensive grounds include a swooping and gated driveway, a terraced courtyard, private patios, shade pergolas, rose gardens, a few fountains and a large flat lawn with a long lap pool that looks private enough to skinny dip and sunbathe in the nude without being seen by nosy neighbors.

The relatively remote location of Castillo del Lago will surely turn off all those fancy folks who dare not drive their big bodied Benzes east of Doheny Drive. It will also not please the slightly less fancy folks who squish their faces in disdain at the notion of living east of the Hollywood Freeway. However, for all the deep pocketed privacy seekers who don't mind winding through the twisting roads of Beachwood Canyon to get home or climbing stairs and riding in elevators to get from room to room, this is a most unique and charming option...even if it does need a bit of sprucing up.