So when I was catching up with all the Mad Men episodes I had missed over the years that I wasn't really watching it I came across a couple of episodes which for various reasons are my favorites. One is Summer Man from last season, and the other is Jet Set. There are a lot of reasons why I really like Jet Set. Even though we've seen Don play hooky from work before, I don't think we've ever seen him do it with such reckless abandon. We see this interesting juxtaposition of Don while he's hanging out with these wealthy bohemians and I loved that contrast. But in addition to that (and other themes that episode explored) I LOVED the house where they filmed this episode.
It was quite simply maybe the most gorgeous example of mid century architecture I've seen. At least in the sense that it is rather like a mid century dream house. So I did a little sleuthing and it is a house known as the Frank Sinatra Estate, also know as the Fox Residence and also known as the Farralone estate. It is currently on the market for $12 million dollars and is located in Chatsworth CA which is a suburb of LA.
Notable things about the house: Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli were married there. It was rented to Frank Sinatra for about a decade, during which time he sub-let the guest house to Marilyn Monroe (and the location where she allegedly hooked up with Jack Kennedy).
If you're inclined to buy it the owners say that it makes about $2 million a year in income earned as a filming location for tv, movies and commercials. It's 10,000 sq. feet and has enough parking space for 200 cars. It's located on the top of a hill away from the eyes of prying neighbors with a long gated driveway that curves up the hill to the house.
In short, it's totally dreamy.
Enjoy:
