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Los Angeles

Henry John Knauer-designed Craftsman in Hancock Park gets $2.28M

Sheldon-Graves House (Val Riolo)
Sheldon-Graves House (Val Riolo)

Ty and Josette Bowers have sold their Hancock Park 1912 Craftsman home for $2.28 million, or approximately $758 per square foot. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom, 3,000-square-foot home at 209 South Wilton Place sold for just over its $2.26 million asking price.

Ty Bowers is a partner at Vessel Design Group, an LA-based branding and marketing firm whose client roster includes NBC Universal and Boeing. He also owns Red Ace fashion knitwear. The Bowers purchased the home in October 2003 for $1.23 million.

The property, known as the Sheldon-Graves House was designed by architect Henry John Knauer, who contributed to the early 1900s residential style of Los Angeles. The property was the originally the home of stockbroker Leslie L. Sheldon and his wife, Lillian Breedlove Sheldon. In 1916, it was purchased by a second owner, Bryon L. Graves, who was employed by Ford Motor Company and was a founder of Western Air Express, one of the first airplane delivery services in the world.

The Sheldon-Graves House is notable because it was instrumental in the establishment of the Wilton Place National Register Historic District in 1979. The two-story structure exhibits a number of Craftsman elements, including a front-gabled roof and a wide front porch supported by thick, square wood piers resting on a brick base.

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The house is located on a 10,000-square-foot lot that includes a 1,210-square-foot two-story guest house with a workshop and garage.

“My favorite room in the house is the living room. This room is very bright, [whereas] some Craftsman homes are dark due to the dark wood construction,” said Bruce Walker of Rodeo Realty-Beverly Hills, the listing agent for the property.

The new owners plan on applying for the Mills Act, Walker said, which offers financial incentives for restoration. Meanwhile, the previous owners—whose son has gone off to college—are planning to downsize to a one-story architecturally significant house.

“We have been looking at some Joseph Eichler houses,” Walker said, referring to the 20th-century post-war real estate developer known for the distinctive Mid-Century modern style.