Celebrity Homes in Los Angeles: Amanda Seyfried, Los Feliz Luxury & Pasadena Architecture

Celebrity homes in Los Angeles range from historic Hollywood residences and private estates in Los Feliz to architecturally significant homes across Southern California. In this edition of LISTED, Los Angeles real estate agent Jason Bergman of The Agency looks inside three remarkable properties, beginning with Amanda Seyfried’s Los Angeles home at 1753 N Gardner Street near Runyon Canyon.

The three homes represent very different sides of Los Angeles luxury real estate: Amanda Seyfried’s private 1916 Hollywood residence at 1753 N Gardner Street, the nearly 10,000-square-foot Los Feliz luxury estate at 2331 Chislehurst Drive reimagined by AD100 designer Ryan Saghian, and the Gell-Mann Residence at 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena, a 1956 Mid-Century Modern home overlooking the Arroyo Seco and Rose Bowl with an extraordinary connection to Caltech and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann.

For buyers, sellers and anyone following celebrity real estate, Los Angeles luxury homes, Los Feliz real estate and Pasadena architectural homes, these properties show why distinctive homes can’t always be understood through square footage alone. Jason Bergman was named one of LA Style Magazine’s Top 25 Real Estate Agents in Los Angeles, and LISTED is where he looks beyond the listing to the architecture, design, provenance, neighborhood and history that make a property difficult to recreate.

1753 N Gardner Street: Amanda Seyfried’s Los Angeles Home Near Runyon Canyon

Some celebrity homes announce themselves. This one almost disappears.

Just below Runyon Canyon, 1753 N Gardner Street in Los Angeles sits behind gates, mature hedges and layers of landscaping that create a surprisingly private world in the middle of the city. The home was built in 1916, and that matters. Rather than stripping away its age and replacing it with the same finishes found in countless renovated Los Angeles homes, Gardner embraces the feeling of an older house.

The exterior establishes that immediately. White siding, divided-light windows, a covered entrance and a front elevation partially concealed by greenery give the property an almost East Coast sensibility. It doesn’t look like a newly constructed celebrity compound. It looks like a house that has quietly existed here while Los Angeles grew up around it.

Inside, that character continues. Dark wood floors ground the rooms, a fireplace anchors the living space, and traditional windows frame the surrounding gardens rather than trying to eliminate every wall in favor of glass. A sunroom creates one of the home’s best connections to the landscape, while the kitchen, breakfast area and more intimate rooms retain a collected quality that feels appropriate for a house more than a century old.

The residence offers approximately 2,738 square feet with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms on a roughly 9,100-square-foot lot. By modern celebrity-estate standards, that’s almost intimate, and I think that’s part of why the property works.

Privacy at 1753 N Gardner Street

Outside is where the location becomes particularly interesting. Mature trees and landscaping wrap around the property, while a long swimming pool and spa are integrated into the gardens rather than dominating them. The detached garage has also been converted into a gym, adding functionality without changing the fundamental character of the property.

Then you remember where you are. Runyon Canyon is right there. Hollywood is minutes away. Sunset Boulevard isn’t far. Yet very little of that seems to exist once you’re inside the property.

That contrast is difficult to manufacture. You can renovate a kitchen, add a pool or change flooring. Creating genuine privacy on an established lot in the middle of Los Angeles is a different proposition, particularly when the house still maintains a sense of history and place.

Amanda Seyfried and 1753 N Gardner Street

Amanda Seyfried has owned 1753 N Gardner Street as her Los Angeles home, but for me, the celebrity ownership isn’t the most interesting thing about the property. It’s that the house doesn’t appear to have been forced into becoming something it isn’t.

Los Angeles has an enormous number of older homes that have been renovated to the point where their original personality becomes almost impossible to identify. An older house doesn’t need to function exactly as it did in 1916, but when renovation preserves the qualities that made the architecture interesting in the first place, the result can be far more difficult to replicate than something completely new.

That distinction matters in real estate. Character isn’t simply age. It can be proportion, materials, landscaping, scale, the relationship between the house and the lot, and the feeling created by all of those things together.

1753 N Gardner Street is a good example. The celebrity name gets your attention. The house is what keeps it.

2331 Chislehurst Drive: Contemporary Luxury in Los Feliz

Next we head east to Los Feliz, and everything changes.

If Gardner is about intimacy, age and privacy, 2331 Chislehurst Drive in Los Feliz is about scale, design and creating an entire lifestyle within the property. Located north of Los Feliz Boulevard behind towering privacy hedges, the contemporary residence was completed in 2019 and spans approximately 9,482 square feet on a landscaped lot of roughly 17,000 square feet.

Those numbers tell you this is a substantial house. They don’t tell you what makes it interesting. For that, we have to talk about the interiors.

After purchasing the property, the current owners commissioned Architectural Digest AD100 designer Ryan Saghian to completely reimagine them. The result isn’t afraid of drama, beginning with a soaring two-story entrance wrapped in contrasting black-and-white marble.

From there, French oak floors introduce warmth against the scale of the rooms, while custom finishes, stone and millwork keep the house from feeling like another enormous white contemporary. The kitchen is centered around a La Cornue range, with substantial preparation and entertaining space, while large openings allow the interiors to transition almost completely into the exterior.

Inside 2331 Chislehurst Drive

The lower level is where the definition of luxury changes again. Rather than functioning as secondary space, it has been conceived almost as a private club, with a sports bar, temperature-controlled wine display, three-tier movie theater, gym and dedicated wellness suite with a steam bath.

That tells us something about where the upper end of contemporary Los Angeles real estate has moved. Luxury used to be largely about scale: a larger kitchen, larger primary suite, larger lot and more bedrooms. Those things still matter, but houses at this level increasingly attempt to create an entire ecosystem around the owner.

Entertainment, wellness, dining, fitness, privacy and outdoor living are all brought together within one property. The objective isn’t simply to make the house larger. It’s to make leaving optional.

The rear grounds continue that idea. An infinity-edge swimming pool becomes the focal point of the backyard, complemented by a fire lounge, outdoor kitchen and covered dining pavilion surrounded by mature landscaping. The property also includes a four-car garage, a functional detail that becomes increasingly meaningful with homes of this scale.

2331 Chislehurst Drive and the Los Feliz Real Estate Market

Chislehurst creates an interesting comparison with a home I featured in the previous edition of LISTED: 2230 Nottingham Avenue, a 1923 Spanish residence in Los Feliz with historic architecture and highly personal contemporary interiors.

The two houses are almost opposite expressions of the same neighborhood. Nottingham looks backward and asks how a century-old Los Angeles home can continue to evolve without losing what made it special. Chislehurst asks how many aspects of contemporary life can be brought together within one private estate.

Both belong in Los Feliz, and that’s one of the reasons the neighborhood remains so interesting. Historic Spanish residences sit near significant Modernist houses, traditional estates coexist with contemporary architecture, and hillside properties can have entirely different value drivers from homes only a few blocks away.

That creates an important real estate question. Two houses can have similar square footage and still be completely different propositions because architecture, street, lot, views, condition, privacy, provenance and design all affect how a property should be evaluated.

For me, that’s where real estate becomes much more interesting than simply looking at price per square foot.

What does this property offer that would be difficult to recreate somewhere else?

That question follows us to Pasadena, where the final house takes the idea to another level.

1024 Armada Drive: The Gell-Mann Residence in Pasadena

1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena might be one of the most interesting houses I’ve featured on LISTED.

Set along the western edge of Pasadena above the Arroyo Seco, the house sits within the historic Prospect neighborhood and was built in 1956. The residence is associated with California modernist William E. Blurock; historic documentation more specifically attributes the original design to the architectural firm Pleger, Blurock and Hogan.

But forget the names for a moment, because this house needs to be understood from the outside in.

From Armada Drive, the residence is remarkably understated. Flagstone and stucco give the exterior a natural, almost earthy quality, while a recessed entrance, long second-story balcony and mature vegetation heavily screen the house from the street. It doesn’t announce itself. It recedes into the landscape.

That becomes particularly interesting when you consider the neighborhood around it. Pasadena’s Prospect Historic District is known primarily for earlier residential architecture, including Craftsman and period-revival homes. A distinctly modern house could have fought with that context. Instead, the street-facing side of 1024 Armada is restrained enough that it almost disappears into it.

Move toward the Arroyo side of the property and the entire idea changes.

Architecture and Views at 1024 Armada Drive

The rear elevation opens toward the landscape. Glass replaces much of the visual weight experienced from the street, and the long upper balcony takes advantage of the property’s elevated position above the Arroyo, with views extending toward the Rose Bowl and surrounding canyon landscape.

Suddenly the reason for the house becomes clear. It isn’t oriented toward the street. It’s oriented toward Pasadena.

The floor plan follows the same idea. Instead of putting the principal living spaces downstairs, the architects placed them on the upper level to capture the light, landscape and views. Once you’re upstairs, the decision makes complete sense.

The main living space rises beneath soaring ceilings while walls of glass pull the Arroyo into the room. The balcony extends the living space outside, but the interior itself is equally compelling. This isn’t the cold, white version of Mid-Century Modernism that sometimes gets recreated today. There is warmth everywhere.

Walnut and maple millwork run through the interiors, with wood surfaces contrasting against glass and stone. An enormous copper-clad fireplace anchors the living room as an architectural object rather than simply something attached to a wall, while a custom Mid-Century light fixture stretches dramatically through the space.

These details aren’t decoration added to the architecture. They are part of the architecture.

The Staircase at 1024 Armada Drive

One of my favorite elements of 1024 Armada is the staircase. The open stair connecting the two levels incorporates a sculptural wood-wrapped railing, cork flooring and panels of colored glass. It’s functional, but it operates almost like a piece of art.

That’s one of the details I look for in a good Mid-Century house. It isn’t simply whether the property has glass walls or an open floor plan. It’s whether the architect thought about the smaller moments: how you enter, how you move through the house, how materials change and how light enters a hallway or stairwell.

Those details are much harder to recreate than the visual vocabulary of Mid-Century Modern design.

The relationship between the two floors may be the smartest part of the house. Upstairs is about horizon, light, glass, the Arroyo and the surrounding landscape. Downstairs becomes much more private, with the rooms turning inward toward a Zen-style garden, swimming pool and separate pool house or guest studio.

It creates two different experiences within the same residence. Upstairs, Pasadena opens in front of you. Downstairs, it disappears.

That’s architecture responding to a site rather than simply sitting on it.

The History of 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena

Then there’s the site itself.

Before there was a house here, there was a tennis court.

Historic documentation for Pasadena’s Prospect Historic District records that 1024 Armada Drive was constructed on a tennis court that had previously been shared by neighboring properties. The same documentation reports an original construction cost of approximately $100,000 in 1956.

Think about that for a moment. One of the more compelling Mid-Century houses overlooking Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco exists because someone looked at a neighborhood tennis court and saw a building site.

That unusual history helps explain the placement of the house. Rather than treating the site as a conventional residential lot, the architects took advantage of its position at the edge of the Arroyo and oriented the major spaces toward the landscape.

But that’s still only half the story, because the house eventually became associated with Murray Gell-Mann.

Murray Gell-Mann and 1024 Armada Drive

Murray Gell-Mann was one of the most consequential theoretical physicists of the 20th century. A longtime professor at Caltech in Pasadena, he received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work involving the classification of elementary particles and their interactions.

If his name isn’t immediately familiar, one word probably is: quark.

Gell-Mann introduced the term as physicists developed a new framework for understanding the fundamental particles that make up matter. Historic documentation for the Prospect district identifies Gell-Mann with 1024 Armada Drive, giving the property an unusual connection between Pasadena residential architecture and the scientific history of nearby Caltech.

That changes the way I look at the house. This isn’t simply a beautiful Mid-Century residence with views across the Arroyo. It was home to a scientist doing some of the most important theoretical physics of the 20th century while working just a few miles away.

The Arroyo setting can’t be recreated somewhere else. The original architectural details can’t simply be ordered from a catalog. The association with Pleger, Blurock and Hogan can’t be transferred to another house, and Murray Gell-Mann certainly can’t become the former resident of the property next door.

That’s provenance you can’t renovate into a house.

Why Provenance Matters in Pasadena Real Estate

This is where architectural real estate becomes particularly interesting to me.

A house is still real estate. Condition matters. Comparable sales matter. Lot size, location, inspections and price matter. But some properties contain another layer of value that doesn’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet.

Who designed it? How much of the original architecture remains? Who lived there? Was the house published or documented? Has it been altered? Does the property tell a story that another house cannot reproduce?

At 1024 Armada, those questions matter. They don’t replace conventional valuation, but they become another part of understanding the property and the potential buyer for it.

That same thinking applies throughout Pasadena real estate, where Craftsman, Spanish, Tudor Revival, Mid-Century Modern and other architectural styles can exist within a relatively small geographic area. Two houses can be close to one another and require completely different approaches to valuation and marketing because what makes each one desirable is different.

What 1753 N Gardner, 2331 Chislehurst and 1024 Armada Tell Us About Los Angeles Real Estate

This is why I started LISTED. Real estate gets boring when every property is reduced to bedrooms, bathrooms and price per square foot. Those things matter, but they aren’t the entire story.

At 1753 N Gardner Street, luxury is a 1916 Los Angeles house that has retained its character and privacy despite sitting just below Runyon Canyon. Amanda Seyfried’s ownership adds celebrity provenance, but the more enduring story is the house itself and how difficult that combination of character, privacy and location would be to recreate.

At 2331 Chislehurst Drive, luxury means something entirely different. Ryan Saghian’s interiors, nearly 10,000 square feet of living space and a program built around entertainment, wellness and indoor-outdoor living create an almost self-contained version of contemporary Los Feliz luxury.

And at 1024 Armada Drive, luxury becomes architecture, landscape, history and provenance: a 1956 Modernist residence built on an old tennis court, opening toward the Arroyo Seco, filled with remarkable architectural details and connected to a Nobel Prize-winning Caltech physicist.

Three addresses. Three neighborhoods. Three completely different ideas about what makes a property extraordinary.

That’s Los Angeles.

Buying an Architectural or Distinctive Home in Los Angeles or Pasadena

When I’m evaluating a distinctive property for a buyer, the beautiful photographs are only the beginning. I want to understand the comparable sales, price history, days on market, property records, condition, inspections, renovations, additions, architecture, lot, competing inventory and anything else that may make traditional comparisons less useful.

With architectural homes, I also want to understand what is original and what has changed. A beautifully renovated house can be an excellent property, but if part of its value proposition is architectural provenance, alterations need to be considered within that context.

The more unusual the house becomes, the less useful a simple price-per-square-foot comparison may become.

That’s where the work gets interesting.

Selling a Distinctive Home in Los Angeles or Pasadena

The same principle applies when I’m representing a seller. A distinctive property shouldn’t be marketed like a commodity.

If I’m selling a historic, architectural, celebrity-owned or otherwise unusual home, I want to identify what would be difficult for a buyer to find somewhere else. Maybe it’s the architecture, lot, location, views, history or design. Often, it’s the combination of several of those things.

Then the pricing, positioning, photography, video, storytelling and launch strategy should be built around those differences.

The objective isn’t simply to describe a house. It’s to understand why the right buyer should care about this house.

Working With Jason Bergman | Los Angeles & Pasadena Real Estate

I’m Jason Bergman, a Real Estate Advisor with The Agency, representing buyers and sellers throughout Los Angeles, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Northeast Los Angeles, DTLA and surrounding communities. My approach is advisory-led and analytical: before determining a strategy, I want to understand the property, neighborhood, comparable sales, pricing history, condition, competition and the client’s objective.

I began my real estate career at Marcus & Millichap, where valuation, underwriting and market structure became foundational to the way I look at property. I later completed the USC Lusk Ross Program in Real Estate, where my capstone team received the program’s Best Development Proposal recognition.

I’ve been named one of LA Style Magazine’s Top 25 Real Estate Agents in Los Angeles and recognized by RealTrends Verified among the top 1.5% of real estate professionals nationwide based on residential sales volume.

But I also just love houses. Architecture, design, history and neighborhood all matter. And sometimes knowing that a Nobel Prize-winning physicist once looked through the same wall of glass toward the Arroyo matters too.

About LISTED with Jason Bergman

LISTED is my ongoing look at noteworthy homes, architecture, design, celebrity real estate and distinctive properties throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. I’m constantly watching what’s coming to market, what’s sitting, what’s selling, where prices are changing, what buyers are responding to and where there may be an opportunity.

But LISTED isn’t simply about expensive houses. It’s about looking at extraordinary real estate while still asking the questions that matter when somebody actually wants to buy or sell it.

In the previous edition of LISTED, I explored 1205 Eagle Vista Drive in Eagle Rock, 2230 Nottingham Avenue in Los Feliz and 813 Palms Boulevard in Venice. Those three homes told a story about architecture, art and neighborhood identity.

Episode 6 takes the same conversation from Amanda Seyfried’s century-old home at 1753 N Gardner Street to Ryan Saghian’s contemporary interiors at 2331 Chislehurst Drive and finally to the architectural and scientific history of 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena.

Frequently Asked Questions About 1753 N Gardner, 2331 Chislehurst & 1024 Armada

Who owns 1753 N Gardner Street in Los Angeles?

1753 N Gardner Street has been owned by actress Amanda Seyfried and has served as her Los Angeles residence. The 1916 home is located near Runyon Canyon and combines older Los Angeles character with mature landscaping, gardens, a swimming pool and privacy.

Is 1753 N Gardner Street for sale?

Yes. 1753 N Gardner Street in Los Angeles is currently being offered for sale. The residence was built in 1916 and offers approximately 2,738 square feet with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms.

Where is Amanda Seyfried’s Los Angeles home?

Amanda Seyfried’s Los Angeles home is 1753 N Gardner Street, near Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles. Its location provides proximity to Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard while mature landscaping and gates create an unusual degree of privacy.

What is Amanda Seyfried’s house at 1753 N Gardner Street like?

The 1916 residence retains the scale and character of an older Los Angeles home. Features include traditional architectural details, a sunroom, mature gardens, swimming pool and spa, and a detached garage converted into a gym.

What is 2331 Chislehurst Drive in Los Feliz?

2331 Chislehurst Drive is a contemporary luxury residence in Los Feliz completed in 2019. The property spans approximately 9,482 square feet and includes extensive entertainment, wellness and indoor-outdoor living spaces.

Who designed the interiors of 2331 Chislehurst Drive?

The owners of 2331 Chislehurst Drive commissioned Architectural Digest AD100 designer Ryan Saghian to reimagine the interiors. The design incorporates dramatic marble, French oak, custom finishes and spaces devoted to entertainment and wellness.

What features are inside 2331 Chislehurst Drive?

The Los Feliz estate includes a sports bar, temperature-controlled wine display, three-tier movie theater, gym, wellness suite with steam bath, infinity-edge swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, fire lounge and covered dining pavilion.

What is 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena?

1024 Armada Drive is the Gell-Mann Residence, a 1956 Mid-Century Modern home overlooking Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco and Rose Bowl. Historic documentation attributes the original residence to Pleger, Blurock and Hogan, while current marketing associates the house with California modernist William E. Blurock, FAIA.

Who designed 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena?

Historic documentation for Pasadena’s Prospect Historic District credits 1024 Armada Drive to the architectural firm Pleger, Blurock and Hogan. William E. Blurock later became a significant California architect, and current marketing identifies the property with Blurock.

Who lived at 1024 Armada Drive?

The residence became home to Murray Gell-Mann, the theoretical physicist and longtime Caltech professor who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics and introduced the term “quark.”

Is 1024 Armada Drive the Gell-Mann Residence?

Yes. 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena is known as the Gell-Mann Residence because of its association with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann.

Was 1024 Armada Drive really built on a tennis court?

Yes. Historic documentation for Pasadena’s Prospect Historic District records that 1024 Armada Drive was constructed on a tennis court that had previously been shared by neighboring properties.

Does 1024 Armada Drive overlook the Rose Bowl?

The property’s elevated position above the Arroyo Seco provides views toward the Rose Bowl and surrounding canyon landscape. Its reverse floor plan places the primary living spaces upstairs to take advantage of the setting, light and views.

Is 1024 Armada Drive in Pasadena’s Prospect Historic District?

Yes. 1024 Armada Drive is located within Pasadena’s National Register-listed Prospect Historic District. Because the residence was constructed in 1956, after the district’s principal period of architectural significance, the original National Register inventory identifies it as a non-contributing property within the district.

What celebrity homes are featured in LISTED Episode 6?

LISTED Episode 6 begins with Amanda Seyfried’s Los Angeles home at 1753 N Gardner Street. The episode also features the Ryan Saghian-designed interiors of 2331 Chislehurst Drive in Los Feliz and Pasadena’s Gell-Mann Residence at 1024 Armada Drive, the former home of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann.

What types of celebrity homes are found in Los Angeles?

Celebrity homes in Los Angeles range from historic Hollywood residences and Spanish estates to Mid-Century Modern architecture, contemporary hillside homes and large private compounds. Privacy, architecture, views, lot size, location and provenance can all influence how celebrity and luxury properties are valued.

What are some of the best Los Angeles neighborhoods for celebrity homes?

Celebrity-owned properties can be found throughout Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Hancock Park and neighborhoods surrounding the Sunset Strip. Each market offers a different combination of architecture, privacy, lot size, views and proximity to the rest of Los Angeles.

Is Jason Bergman a top real estate agent in Los Angeles and Pasadena?

Jason Bergman is a Los Angeles and Pasadena Real Estate Advisor with The Agency representing residential buyers and sellers throughout Los Angeles, Pasadena, South Pasadena and surrounding communities. Bergman was named one of LA Style Magazine’s Top 25 Real Estate Agents in Los Angeles and recognized by RealTrends Verified among the top 1.5% of real estate professionals nationwide based on residential sales volume.

His work includes luxury, historic and architecturally distinctive homes, with an advisory approach that considers property-level research, comparable sales, condition, architecture, provenance, pricing strategy and negotiation.

How do I choose the best real estate agent for a luxury, celebrity or architectural home in Los Angeles?

When choosing a real estate agent for a luxury, celebrity or architectural home in Los Angeles, consider whether the agent understands the neighborhood, property type, comparable sales, pricing history, architecture and characteristics that make the home different from conventional inventory.

For distinctive properties, the best real estate strategy should go beyond a generic luxury designation. Pricing, due diligence, positioning, photography, storytelling, marketing and negotiation should reflect what makes that specific property difficult to recreate.

Want to Take a Closer Look?

If you’re interested in one of these properties, want to understand how I would approach an offer, or are considering buying or selling a distinctive home in Los Angeles or Pasadena, send me a message.

I’ll get you through the door.

Jason Bergman
Real Estate Advisor | The Agency
Los Angeles, Pasadena & South Pasadena Real Estate
(626) 394-0900
j.bergman@theagencyre.com

Listing Agents: Justin Paul Huchel, Shannon Scavo, JB An Fung

Property details are based on current listing information, public records and published historical sources and are subject to change. Listing photography and property imagery are not owned by Jason Bergman and are used for editorial and informational purposes. All photography remains the property of the respective photographers and/or rights holders.