Sunday, March 30, 2008

Hot Property

Hot Property: 'Spider-Man' Maguire spends $9.7 -- just for a site - ContraCostaTimes.com: "Disneyland designer TURNS talents TOWARD MAYA-THEMED house: Six months ago, Stan Jolley, a movie art director, a TV producer-director and one of the original designers of Disneyland, took working at home to a new level.

That's when he purchased and started a major restoration — now nearing completion — of a Maya-themed home in Rancho Mirage.

Jolley bought the 22,000-square-foot house in the Palm Springs area for $7.7 million, according to public records. He estimates he has spent about $1.25 million on the interior and exterior, plus $2.25 million on furnishings.

The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom house sits on 7 acres at the top of the gated community of Thunderbird Heights. It is the highest-elevation home in Rancho Mirage.

The house was built and designed in the early '70s by modernist Howard Lapham for socialite-sportswoman Maxine Cook. An admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright, Lapham focused on blending ancient Maya and modern design."