Former Home to USC’s Presidents Sells for $25 Million, a Record for San Marino, California

BY V.L. HENDRICKSON | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 8, 2021 | MANSION GLOBAL

The approximately 14,000-square-foot mansion that’s been home to decades of presidents of the University of Southern California sold for $25 million in a deal that closed Tuesday—a price record for the city of San Marino, California.

The 7-acre Seeley Mudd Estate, which was listed in February, sold for $500,000 more than its asking price, according to the Multiple Listing Service. That’s 38% more than the next most expensive residential sale on record in San Marino, records show.

“There were multiple offers,” said listing agent Ernie Carswell of Douglas Elliman. “The [winning] offer was compelling, but we had buyers waiting in the wings.”

Mr. Carswell, who shared the listing with Austin Alfieri, also of Elliman, and Brent Chang of Compass, did not have any information about the buyer, adding that the deal was made via an attorney. Records for the property are not yet publicly available.

Built in 1934, it was once the home of Dr. Seeley Mudd, a physician, professor, and philanthropist who died in 1968. He left it to USC and it’s been used as the residence for presidents since 1979, Mansion Global reported at the time of its listing. The estate has been used for university events and dinners throughout the years, including a Thanksgiving event for up to 400 people.

The land also had two other historic owners, according to Mr. Carswell. It was compiled from parcels belonging to Henry Huntington, a railroad baron whose home is now the nearby Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, and Gen. George S. Patton, a high-ranking WWII general, and California native.

The grounds feature a sunken tennis court, a rose garden, fountains, a pool, and paved walking trails throughout the estate.

“You are in a forest and in a beautiful rural setting and you would not believe you're living in a neighborhood where there are 14 million people just over the hill,” Mr. Carswell told Mansion Global in February.

The mansion itself is in “beautiful condition, but is not in the style of today,” the agent said. He expects the new owner to upgrade the home to create a more open floor plan and a larger kitchen.

Other amenities of the estate include a carriage house with a gas station, a full garage and a car wash and two children’s playhouses that are original to the estate, a log cabin with a potbelly stove, and a white clapboard house with red-rimmed windows.

The Los Angeles Times first reported the deal.