Upon These Fertile Grounds
Upon These Fertile Grounds
As if the news that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated after 25 years wasn't surprising enough, Arnold's confession of having fathered a child with a former housekeeper has added fuel to the fire. The Pacific Palisades estate in which the family lived during those prolific times is for sale -- although the Schwarzenegger family sold the house (or houses) in 2004. Arnold and Maria reportedly bought one of the houses in the compound in 1986 -- the year they married.
In the following years, they bought up neighboring properties -- including one owned by actor Daniel J. Travanti (Hill Street Blues) and one owned by actor John Forsythe (Dynasty) -- ultimately combining four properties into one five-acre compound.*
E! News -- among other sources -- reports this is "the mansion where Schwarzenegger started his affair." Housekeeper and 20-year-employee Mildred Patricia Baena, 50, gave birth to a son on Oct 3, 1997 -- five days after Maria Shriver gave birth to her and Arnold's fourth child, also a boy.
While we can only guess what occurred inside the estate, here's an outside look at the Mediterranean mansion. The True Lies actor, his wife, and their four children -- Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher -- lived at this 1982-built compound in Pacific Palisades until 2002, when they moved into another house they owned in Brentwood, California. Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in November 2003.
Pacific Palisades is a wealthy community near Malibu and Santa Monica.
The property borders Will Rogers State Park and is zoned for horses.
*Source: SF Gate via The Los Angeles Times
Tennis, Love?
Obviously, the former bodybuilding champ and Mr. Universe liked to work out, presumably on this "championship" tennis court -- a quintessential California staple for estate owners. The court is located near the beautiful custom-built swimming pool, making it easy to build up a sweat and then jump in the pool to cool off.
It makes sense that the couple and their kids might have enjoyed playing tennis, since Schwarzenegger and Shriver met in 1977 at the Robert F.
Kennedy Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament in Forest Hills, New York. They dated for eight years before marrying in 1986.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver sold one parcel of the five-acre compound in 2004 to her cousin, Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, son of Ethel and the late Robert F. Kennedy for $3.4 million. Matthew Kennedy's home features a pool and tennis court situated on slightly more than an acre. Schwarzenegger had purchased that home as a Valentine's gift for Maria in 2001.
Bridge to Somewhere
From one of the real estate listings of the Schwarzenegger mansion:
"Down a quiet private lane, across a lovely bridge over a spring-fed stream. An Old World quality Mediterranean mansion is set like a gem in this magnificent, gated equestrian estate comprising over two and half acres of expansive green lawns and gardens."
While bridges leading up to estate gates might be more common in, say, Austria, the northeastern United States or Iowa's Madison County, they aren't something one sees too often in Southern California.
Why? Most of the region is densely populated, with tract homes built close to the curb, with little setback. Newer homes feature little or no front yard, and barely enough room to park a car in the driveway. So a bridge leading to gates that open to a long driveway -- rare, indeed.
Through the Garden Gates
Across the bridge and through the gates is the two-acre grounds of the home once owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver -- where all four of their children lived with the couple until he became governor of California in 2003 and served until January 2011.
The Mediterranean mansion features expansive lawns, "where you can set up horse jumps or play soccer," according to the real estate listing.
It's an unofficial law that all Southern California estates must have a swimming pool, and the Schwarzenegger property in Pacific Palisades was no exception. Its geometric shape is unusual and attractive.
The estate for sale was sold by the Schwarzeneggers in 2004 to pro golfer Denis Watson and his attorney wife, Susan Loggans, for about $7.95 million. It's currently listed at $23.5 million.
Watson has won three PGA Tour and four Champions Tour titles.
The mansion has been remodeled since it was built in the early 1980s, and features seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Other amenities include an entertainment room, guest house, tennis court, the pool, spa, a duck pond and a natural year-round stream. The estate is in a wooded area close to the coast.
Big family; big patio -- makes sense. Terracotta tiles complement the architecture and materials of the Mediterranean-style house at the Pacific Palisades property owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver for 17 years.
A deep-seating -style outdoor patio set makes the area a true outdoor room.
Other outdoor amenities include a heated pool and spa, cabanas, a guest house and manicured gardens.
As if the news that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated after 25 years wasn't surprising enough, Arnold's confession of having fathered a child with a former housekeeper has added fuel to the fire. The Pacific Palisades estate in which the family lived during those prolific times is for sale -- although the Schwarzenegger family sold the house (or houses) in 2004. Arnold and Maria reportedly bought one of the houses in the compound in 1986 -- the year they married.
In the following years, they bought up neighboring properties -- including one owned by actor Daniel J. Travanti (Hill Street Blues) and one owned by actor John Forsythe (Dynasty) -- ultimately combining four properties into one five-acre compound.*
E! News -- among other sources -- reports this is "the mansion where Schwarzenegger started his affair." Housekeeper and 20-year-employee Mildred Patricia Baena, 50, gave birth to a son on Oct 3, 1997 -- five days after Maria Shriver gave birth to her and Arnold's fourth child, also a boy.
While we can only guess what occurred inside the estate, here's an outside look at the Mediterranean mansion. The True Lies actor, his wife, and their four children -- Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher -- lived at this 1982-built compound in Pacific Palisades until 2002, when they moved into another house they owned in Brentwood, California. Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in November 2003.
Pacific Palisades is a wealthy community near Malibu and Santa Monica.
The property borders Will Rogers State Park and is zoned for horses.
*Source: SF Gate via The Los Angeles Times
Tennis, Love?
Obviously, the former bodybuilding champ and Mr. Universe liked to work out, presumably on this "championship" tennis court -- a quintessential California staple for estate owners. The court is located near the beautiful custom-built swimming pool, making it easy to build up a sweat and then jump in the pool to cool off.
It makes sense that the couple and their kids might have enjoyed playing tennis, since Schwarzenegger and Shriver met in 1977 at the Robert F.
Kennedy Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament in Forest Hills, New York. They dated for eight years before marrying in 1986.
Valentine's Day Gift From Arnold to Maria
Schwarzenegger and Shriver sold one parcel of the five-acre compound in 2004 to her cousin, Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, son of Ethel and the late Robert F. Kennedy for $3.4 million. Matthew Kennedy's home features a pool and tennis court situated on slightly more than an acre. Schwarzenegger had purchased that home as a Valentine's gift for Maria in 2001.
Bridge to Somewhere
From one of the real estate listings of the Schwarzenegger mansion:
"Down a quiet private lane, across a lovely bridge over a spring-fed stream. An Old World quality Mediterranean mansion is set like a gem in this magnificent, gated equestrian estate comprising over two and half acres of expansive green lawns and gardens."
While bridges leading up to estate gates might be more common in, say, Austria, the northeastern United States or Iowa's Madison County, they aren't something one sees too often in Southern California.
Why? Most of the region is densely populated, with tract homes built close to the curb, with little setback. Newer homes feature little or no front yard, and barely enough room to park a car in the driveway. So a bridge leading to gates that open to a long driveway -- rare, indeed.
Through the Garden Gates
Across the bridge and through the gates is the two-acre grounds of the home once owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver -- where all four of their children lived with the couple until he became governor of California in 2003 and served until January 2011.
The Mediterranean mansion features expansive lawns, "where you can set up horse jumps or play soccer," according to the real estate listing.
It's an unofficial law that all Southern California estates must have a swimming pool, and the Schwarzenegger property in Pacific Palisades was no exception. Its geometric shape is unusual and attractive.
The estate for sale was sold by the Schwarzeneggers in 2004 to pro golfer Denis Watson and his attorney wife, Susan Loggans, for about $7.95 million. It's currently listed at $23.5 million.
Watson has won three PGA Tour and four Champions Tour titles.
The mansion has been remodeled since it was built in the early 1980s, and features seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Other amenities include an entertainment room, guest house, tennis court, the pool, spa, a duck pond and a natural year-round stream. The estate is in a wooded area close to the coast.
Big family; big patio -- makes sense. Terracotta tiles complement the architecture and materials of the Mediterranean-style house at the Pacific Palisades property owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver for 17 years.
A deep-seating -style outdoor patio set makes the area a true outdoor room.
Other outdoor amenities include a heated pool and spa, cabanas, a guest house and manicured gardens.
