Bestselling Author’s Sprawling Mansion With Hidden Speakeasy and Wild Hollywood History Lists for $4.5 Million

Just like her bestselling historical romance novels, famed author Kathryn Le Veque‘s 122-year-old mansion is full of history, romance, and juicy details.

Now, after meticulously restoring the 13-bedroom, 12-bath, Wallace Neff-designed estate, she’s put it on the market for $4.5 million.

The Greek Revival-style Singer Mansion is located in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendora, about 25 miles from Glendale, where Le Veque—who has written and published more than 100 historical and contemporary romance novels, including the “de Wolfe Pack” series—was born.

The mansion’s consummately California pedigree is one of the factors that drew her to the estate. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places for several colorful reasons.

The original home on the property, known as the Glidden Villa, was a large Craftsman-style farmhouse built to service Valencia orange groves. It was about half the size of the Singer Mansion, which would be built on its foundation some decades later. Some details, including the old playhouse and parts of the basement where the speakeasy is now located, still exist.

But the estate gained its dazzling Hollywood patina when legendary architect Wallace Neff was contracted to build one of his sought after Hollywood mansions on the site in the early 1930s.

Neff was the most sought after Southern California architect of his time. He designed seminal homes for the era’s biggest stars, including Pickfair for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Falcon Lair for Rudolph Valentino, and the Fredric March House, which was subsequently owned by philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, then Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

“When we first came across this house, what immediately stood out was that it was a Wallace Neff design,” Le Veque said. “I knew the rich history of his work and the influence he had on Southern California architecture. There’s just so much to see, so much glorious detail. It’s truly an experience, and you have to soak it in.”

Neff had designed the 30-room mansion for his friend Arthur K. Bourne, heir to the Singer Sewing Machine empire, hence why it became known as the Singer Mansion. It took two years, from 1932 to 1934, to build.

In a scandalous twist, the 1.55-acre estate also became known as the Albourne Rancho, for, shall we say, a bit more unusual reasons. Bourne purchased the home for his wife, Emily and their children. After Emily died, Bourne married Alberta, the children’s nanny. A contraction of Alberta’s first name and his last, “Albourne” seemed to fit the family home at the time.

Perhaps because of the implied scandal, the name “Albourne Rancho” didn’t stick. But some family friendly features Bourne had Neff incorporate into the home did.

Bourne bought the property in 1932, right around the time of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, which was one of the most shocking and widely publicized crimes of the 20th century. That led Bourne to add some unique security features, some that are still there to this day.

One is a locking iron gate at the top of the main staircase, to protect the family on the second floor in case burglars or worse broke in through the front.

There’s also a hidden steel-lined safe room—possibly the first ever in the U.S.—which was also used as a Prohibition-era speakeasy room, and is still used for that today.

Le Veque and her husband purchased the estate in 2021 for $3.6 million, from the great-great-great-granddaughter of Lucky Baldwin, considered Southern California royalty. Baldwin Park, Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Avenue, and Baldwin Lake are all named after him.

Le Veque was thrilled by the fact that there were so many original Wallace Neff signature features remaining from Bourne’s time. Most still exist in the home today, among them the spiral staircase, elaborate molding, marble floors, and main rooms (living and dining) facing south for maximum sunlight and exposure, plus the original China room and dumbwaiter.

The main house also has some original windows and window frames, doors, French doors, and flooring of oak and Spanish marble. Most walls are made of plaster, as they were historically, not of drywall. And the main staircase chandelier is believed to be original to the house, although some of the Baccarat crystals may have been added or deleted.

When Le Veque purchased the home, the major renovation to the landscaping that was done in 2003 had reached full maturity—gardens were created, the pool was moved from the back of the house to the northeast corner of the property, and ponds were built.

Le Veque made it her mission to restore the interior.

“For me, the restoration was about returning the home to the original vision of Wallace Neff that I felt had strayed from that over time,” she said. “The 2003 renovation leaned into a Georgian East Coast style, which didn’t feel right for the house or the period.”

Her background as a historical fiction writer helped. “As someone who loves history, I knew the architecture deserved something more true to its roots. The 1937 Architectural Digest article on the mansion was my inspiration to bring it back to the softer, more appropriate colors from that era. I wanted the house to feel warm and lived-in, while still honoring its heritage.”

Some of the more interesting features Le Veque preserved and updated include two bathrooms, his and hers, in the entryway, an original marble fireplace made of Connemara Marble from Ireland, and a concealed storage area that links the library to the living room.

The kitchen retains its original footprint, but has been extensively updated and remodeled, with top of the line appliances, cabinets, and surfaces. It includes a butler’s pantry, window seat, and an eat-in caterer’s kitchen, which was formerly the servants’ dining room.

The elaborate primary suite has been completely updated, but retains some of its traditional qualities like two fireplaces. It’s a six-room living space, made up of the main bedroom, “his” closet, “her” dressing room, a sitting room, a primary bath with a two-person shower and a deep soaking tub, in addition to a home office.

Most of the fun was had on the lower level, where the billiards room, screening room, and an English pub with an original bar can be found.

The concealed door that leads to a steel-lined safe room, one of the first of its kind, now functions as a speakeasy with iron wine rack and original prohibition drain (for quick disposal of banned spirits).

There’s equal beauty to be found outside. The lushly landscaped grounds feature the largest residential rose collection in the United States and various themed gardens—French, English, Mediterranean, Tropical, Biblical, Woodland and Asian, the latter with a koi pond and bridge.

In fact, thanks to the lush, manicured grounds and separate structures for preparation, the estate has been offered as a wedding, filming, and photo venue, generating additional income.

There are also three ADUs nestled into the gardens. There’s a freestanding, 2,000-square-foot guesthouse with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a full kitchen, and laundry. In addition there’s an apartment above the garage, and one of Glendora’s first schoolhouses (circa 1880s) with room for one teacher and four students.

Le Veque lived on the property with her extended family, while her two children and their partners lived in two of the ADUs.

“As much as I love this house and joke that I could die here and be buried in the yard, it’s just time to downsize,” she said wistfully. “My family and I have had the most wonderful time living here together. Now, it’s time for the next owner to enjoy it and create memories of their own, just as we have.”

And it is a one of a kind opportunity for the next owners.

“Fully restored properties like this are incredibly rare—these homes are akin to collectible works of art,” said listing agent Sally Forster Jones, with Compass. “The craftsmanship is true to its era, making it an architectural anomaly in today’s market.”