Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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"Over $30,000 was spent on a lighting designer to ensure that every area is perfectly lit at all times." —GAVIN ERNSTONE continued from page 117 Drive and 55 Skybird Court structures add up to 13,490 square feet (4,500 for the guesthouse alone) on a 1.75-acre estate. The Midcentury Modern– inspired architecture should appeal to wealthy buyers with an eye for classic design. And glorious city and mountain views are just what you'd expect from such an elite perch. This is clearly a compound built for entertaining. There are eight bedroom suites, some with their own living rooms and each with its own bathroom. The electronics budget alone was more than $1.5 million, and the amenities include a tricked-out movie theater. The guesthouse, which by itself cost $3.8 million, has two kitchens. There are even garage spaces for your seven cars (if you own more than that, you're on your own). Adds Ernstone, "There was over $30,000 spent on a lighting designer to ensure that every area is perfectly lit at all times of the day and night." Downtown Vegas, however, is where you'll find a home even more distinctive than the Liberace and Lederer houses. Back in 1978, with the Cold War raging and nuclear warfare a constant threat, Girard B. Henderson, a former Avon executive and a big player in the aerospace and TV industries, was prepared to survive in style. He spent $10 million to build the property at 3970 Spencer Street, an underground hideaway strong enough to survive a nuclear blast. With nearly 17,000 square feet of space, including a two-bedroom underground main house and a one-bedroom underground guesthouse, Henderson had plenty of room for bomb-fearing guests. (There's also an aboveground house.) Winston King of Kingly Properties is listing the home for $1.7 million (kinglypropertieslv.com). Potential buyers of the bank-owned property can take an elevator or stairs down to the hidden structures and enjoy design details from another era, like pink walls, 360-degree hand-painted murals, and indoor fountains, plus a putting green, a swimming pool, Jacuzzis, and a sauna. "The aboveground house is a standard house, functional, but more for a caretaker or more for someone who wants to sit around and have an office," says King. "Then you go down and it's like living in your basement when you're a kid." While such a unique home might require a unique buyer, broker Jack LeVine of Very VintageVegas.com and Bella Vegas Homes Realty says there's always a market for historical properties and classic design. He notes that Midcentury Modern homes like 1490 South Seventh Street (listed at $189,000), in the John S. Park Historic District, and 3017 Ashby Avenue ($299,000), in the historic McNeil Estates, sold within days of hitting the market. "At any given time, there are a couple of interesting ones on the market, but you have to act quickly," LeVine says. "The following for Midcentury homes and neighborhoods continues to grow and I don't believe will ever slow down. The alternative is soulless, artless suburban stucco and tile." And why live in a cookie-cutter house when you can get a bargain on a piece of history? V TOP: The Midcentury Modern home at 1490 South Seventh. LEFT AND BELOW: Wait out nuclear war in style in this underground bunker. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS (UNDERGROUND); MARK E. ADAMS/VEGASTODAYANDTOMORROW.COM (1490) HAUTE PROPERTY 118 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 117-118_V_BOB_HP_Opener_Nov13.indd 118 10/22/13 10:21 AM