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EL CIELITO
T
he handsome six-bedroom, six-bath, 8,000-sq-ft (+/-), grand-yet-intimate 1920s George Washington Smith-designed Spanish Revival stunner
on three-plus close-in acres was dubbed
El Cielito
(“Little bit of heaven”) and lives up to its name. This surprisingly large parcel has three separate
gated entrances and bespeaks of old Montecito, old money, big money. It sits at the end of a tree-lined driveway dominated by an enormous (and rare)
Moreton Bay fig tree. Hand-painted wood beams embrace the den-conversation pit accessed through a grand entry. The bar features a floor-to-ceiling
wine wall; many of Mr. Smith’s noted Moorish tile accents enhance the kitchen, butler’s pantry, and the outside covered patios, of which there are many.
In addition to the vintage G.W. Smith details, a new wing (designed and added on seamlessly by Don Nulty in 2008) boasts a modern and
separate upstairs guest suite. El Cielito’s additional attractions include an oversized four-car garage, outdoor fireplaces, tennis court, 16’ x 62’ pool
(my measurement), pool house, and a one-bedroom guesthouse. This estate’s three-plus acres of lawn, boxwood-bordered rose gardens, lily ponds,
orchard, tree house, and exotic foliage, along with its ivy-covered walls, beckon a bygone era. Another appeal is that you are not only in the part of
Montecito favored by the likes of Charlie Chaplin (who honeymooned with his young bride, Oona, in a nearby house on Middle Road), George
Washington Smith, and Lutah Riggs, both of whom built their own homes right around the corner from El Cielito, but the three-plus-acre estate is
within easy walking distance of Coast Village Road and Butterfly Beach.
Other nearby neighbors – captains of industry all – include TV mogul Dick Wolf, Manchester Capital CEO Ted Cronin, and Class Action
super-lawyer Robert Lieff. The house at the corner of Mesa and Middle Roads was owned by film director Robert Zemeckis back in the early 1990s
and is where he and his team edited the Oscar-winning film
Forrest Gump.
The name on the mailbox outside the home (designed by G.W. Smith), in
fact, read “Gump” for a number of years. What I mean to say is that El Cielito is located in what has been a favored area for a long, long time.
Listed by Calcagno & Hamilton and John McGowan at $21.5 million
REAL ESTATES
photos by Jim Bartsch
