PALM SPRINGS, Calif.
The former Palm Springs retreat of the legendary silent film comedian, actor and director, Harold Lloyd, is now available as a venue for special events accommodating up to 200 people. Situated in the celebrity hideaway of the Movie Colony, the Harold Lloyd Estate offers a unique setting for corporate events.
The 1.1 acre estate recently underwent a redesign of the interior main house and guest houses, and a new distinctive Hollywood-inspired photography collection was installed throughout the living quarters.
The Lloyd estate was built in 1925 and sits across from the Cary Grant estate in the historic Old Las Palmas neighborhood of the Movie Colony, which was developed in the 1920s with former iconic celebrity residents taking second homes here including Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Katherine Hepburn, Gene Autry, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Dinah Shore and many other Hollywood stars.
The main house and two spacious casitas of the Lloyd estate recently received a redesign that embraces the original warm Spanish architecture while highlighting added Asian accents and feng shui elements. At 5,100 square feet, the house and casitas contain five bedrooms and six bathrooms for up to 10.
Entering through ornate doors into a spacious guest area, visitors will find intricately hand-painted wood beams and hand-carved wood decor throughout the house, while featuring the original terracotta tile flooring and colorful art deco bathroom tiles in the unique his-and-hers bathroom off the master suite.
There is also an incredible 1,000-bottle wine cellar and tasting room located in the basement of the Harold Lloyd Estate, accessible via a spiral staircase that had to be installed by a crane from atop.
A carefully curated photography collection is exhibited in each of the main living areas and guest bedrooms, in which each room presents a different theme documenting the Old Hollywood golden era to the Playground of the Stars. With over 100 vintage photographs of digital variants printed from originals, the walls are adorned by Charlie Chaplin, Robert Downey Jr. portraying Chaplin from the 1993 film of the same name, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, Gloria Swanson, Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Veronica Lake, Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo Clark Gable, Lucille Ball, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren and Alfred Hitchcock.
Additionally, Virtual 3D Photographs of modernist architecture can be found scattered throughout the property. Lloyd was one of the first proponents of 3D motion pictures and shot over 200,000 3D slides.
French doors off the main house as well as the casitas open out to a spacious and private outdoor grassy area framed by hundred-year old Tamarisk and Eucalyptus trees. There is a salt-water swimming pool and Jacuzzi, and al fresco dining seating for 10, under mountain views and a palm tree lined backdrop.
