A landmark water tower converted decades ago into a private home and recently remodeled has hit the market for $4.95 million.
Set atop a support structure bordering Sunset Beach and Seal Beach along Pacific Coast Highway, the 2,828-square-foot, four-level abode has four bedrooms and bathrooms, a rotunda-style living room and an elevator.
Glass doors open to a walk-around deck for unobstructed 360-degree views, from the Pacific Ocean to the mountains.
Originally, the circa-1892 tower served steam engines as they traveled along the coast. A 75,000-gallon tank that held more than 300 tons of water went up in the 1940s. By the 1970s, the tank sat empty.
A successful “save our water tank” campaign launched in the early 1980s spared it from the wrecking ball.
The structure was sold to a pair of investors who built a house designed to look like a water tank in 1984.
South Pasadena retired fire chief Gerald Wallace then bought the tower in 1995 for $800,000. He tried to sell it several times, once for as much as $8 million.
It wasn’t until 2016 when investors quietly bought the property for $1.5 million and had it professionally restored and decorated.
Inside, the house features a kitchen, laundry room and a bedroom with a secret room behind a bookshelf.
The two master bedrooms each feature a sunken shower in the bathroom.
A hot tub, two garages and ample storage space round out the listing.
Co-owner Scott Ostlund of Lee and Associates holds the listing.
