A Greek-inspired billionaire’s temple mansion with 16 towering Corinthian columns in the hills of Berkeley, California, is coming on the market for $5 million.
Known as Temple of Wings, the home overlooking San Francisco Bay was built in the early 1910s and owned for decades by billionaire Gordon Getty and his wife, Ann Getty. A designated Berkeley landmark, it is coming on the market following Ann’s death in 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Although it is time to move on, the Temple of Wings will always represent a quiet place where beauty has time to rest before blooming,” Gordon, the 90-year-old son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, said in a statement.
The three-bedroom house, which the Gettys used for occasional events and hosting guests, is about 4,000 square feet. The entryway to the property has a double-stone staircase leading to a grand semicircular entertaining pavilion and lawns.
The house was designed for attorney Charles C. Boynton and his wife, Florence Treadwell Boynton, according to the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.
The open-air structure had a canvas in lieu of walls; Florence was a proponent of a parenting movement dubbed “open-air motherhood,” which touted the benefits of outdoor time for children, The Wall Street Journal notes.
The paper adds that it was also designed to be a venue for modern and contemporary dance. Florence, a childhood friend of famed choreographer Isadora Duncan, was a dance teacher and taught movement classes at the Temple.
Greek temple mansion was purchased by the Gettys
The house was initially designed by prominent architect Bernard Maybeck and completed by A. Randolph Monroe, according to the city of Berkeley. It was subsequently remodeled after it was partially destroyed by a fire in 1923.
The property passed through several generations of the Boynton family before it was purchased in the 1990s by the Gettys. The Temple served as a “personal oasis” for the Gettys, and Ann in particular, a spokesperson said.
Family members sometimes lived in the home. Several Getty family members attended the University of California, Berkeley, and some visiting professors at the university lived at the Temple with their families.
The house is divided into two wings. In the north wing, an open-plan living, dining and entertaining space has the original beamed ceiling with frescoes, as well as a wood-burning fireplace with marble and wrought-iron detailing. Upstairs, the primary bedroom has three balconies with views of the bay.
The south wing has a living room with stone and shell flooring and a classical fireplace. Upstairs, there is a wet bar with a skylight and two additional bedrooms.
The Getty family is known for its vast art collection and association with the Getty Center and Getty Villa museums in the Los Angeles area. At the Temple, the family displayed several important pieces of art, including “A Coign of Vantage,” a painting by the Dutch-born artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Wall Street Journal notes.
