Bing Crosby’s house in Rancho Mirage, California, US, saw a lot of parties while he lived there from 1957 into the 1960s.
Frank Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, and Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez lived nearby. The home’s most famous guests, though, likely were Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy, who, according to Monroe’s biographer, visited the house at the same time and may have made their rumored love connection in the legendary dry heat. (A two-bedroom attached casita has been nicknamed the JFK Wing in Kennedy’s honor.)
The estate, spread across more than an acre, was built for the crooner and his second wife, Kathryn, in 1957. The single-story home, with a 1,400-square-foot master suite along with four other en-suite bedrooms, has been on and off the market since 2010, when it was first listed for US$3.4 million. It’s also been available for rent through Airbnb for US$3,400 a night.
Now the home has reappeared on the market, with a price of US$5 million. Linda Taglianetti, Fredrik Eklund, John Gomes, and Gail Vasquez of Douglas Elliman Real Estate represent the listing at 70375 Calico Rd.
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The Spanish-style home is set in the Thunderbird Heights community of Rancho Mirage, a city near Palm Springs that’s seen an increase in home values of more than 30 percent in the past six months, according to Douglas Elliman’s Micro Market Report.
According to Elliman data, Crosby’s estate is valued at seven times the median home price in the same ZIP code. (Zillow, meanwhile, estimates its worth about US$3.2 million.)
“The home is all about indoor-outdoor living and traditional-meeting-modern design—and it overlooks such a gorgeous backdrop,” Eklund says. That might be true, but the home’s pedigree clearly adds perceived value. What other listing can offer the chance for caroling around a pool and fire pit with such a level of celebrity history?
The house is in decent shape but could use some upgrades. Along with a well-proportioned main structure with retractable glass walls, the purchase includes an adjacent half-acre lot on which owners can build a small guest house for future presidential affairs.
- Bloomberg
