Pasadena Wallace Neff, The Andrew Neff House
1097 S LOS ROBLES AVENUE, PASADENA | $1,850,000 | 2 BD | 2 BA
Wow. What if the Flintstone’s and the Jetson’s homes had a rendezvous? The result may very well be something like this Airform futurist modern residence by Wallace Neff. The Andrew Neff house circa 1946 even comes with your very own bomb shelter. I guess that makes it a true “atomic” age modern home.
Architect Wallace Neff, known for designing grand Period Revival homes for Hollywood elites like Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Groucho Marx, and Judy Garland, took the most pride in his modest Airform, or “bubble,” houses.Inspired in the 1930s by a soap bubble’s resilience, Neff envisioned dome-shaped Airform homes as a low-cost, quick-to-build solution to the global housing crisis. Constructed by inflating a balloon, covering it with chicken wire, and spraying it with gunite, these structures required no wood or nails.
Despite Neff’s efforts to promote them for wartime housing, their igloo-like shape and unconventional layout limited widespread adoption in the U.S. However, they found success abroad, with examples built in Senegal, Cairo, and Rio de Janeiro.
The only remaining Airform house in the U.S., built in 1946 in Pasadena with funding from Neff’s mother, was controversial among neighbors but gained recognition when featured on the Los Angeles Times Home Magazine cover in 1947. Now a celebrated architectural landmark, it remains a testament to Neff’s innovative vision.
The property also includes a Cold War-era, Airform-constructed bomb shelter, originally designed for a family of four to five, now a potential wine cellar. In the late 1990s, artist Steve Roden commissioned architect William Merzbach to expand the garage into a 1,000-square-foot studio with an office, bath, and laundry.
Situated on a spacious corner lot at Los Robles Avenue and Wallis Street, the home offers gated parking, mature gardens, two patios, and views of the San Gabriel Mountains. Pasadena Wallace Neff, The Andrew Neff House.
Listing courtesy of Crosby Doe, Crosby Doe Associates
If you would like to know more about this amazing home, contact Brian Courville at 310-622-0312. Or, for additional Mid-Century Modern | Architectural homes, Spanish homes, Historic Los Angeles homes or Classic Los Angeles homes for sale reach us by email at: Brian Courville. If you are considering selling, contact us for a free no-obligation home valuation.
