Desert mansion once owned by Ebony, Jet publishers hits market for $5.3M

The Johnson family has owned the 5.3K-sf California home since 1974

John and Eunice Johnson's desert mansion (Credit: Compass, Wikimedia Commons)
John and Eunice Johnson's desert mansion (Credit: Compass, Wikimedia Commons)

The 5,300-square-foot desert mansion owned by the longtime publishers of Ebony and Jet Magazines is being listed with a $5.3 million asking price.

John and Eunice Johnson, who launched Negro Digest in Chicago in 1942 before creating the celebrated magazines, bought the midcentury hilltop home in Palm Springs, Calif. in 1974, according to Crain’s. The property passed down to their daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, who is now selling it.

The 2.4-acre property includes two swimming pools and a tennis court, with an interior courtyard and floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the surrounding mountains. It is being listed by John Nelson of Compass.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The 12-story Johnson Publishing Building in the Loop is now being converted into apartments by 3L Real Estate, which is keeping the recognizable “EBONY/JET” sign on its roof.

A preservation group acquired and removed the building’s psychedelic test kitchen and announced this month it was looking for a buyer. [Crain’s] — Alex Nitkin