See it: Unique home built entirely of stone in 1929 on Lake Tahoe shore is for sale
A historic house built entirely of stone in 1929 on the Lake Tahoe waterfront is selling for $3.5 million.
The Chaney House was one of three homes built by Italian stone mason Umberto Sprellio on the West Shore, including the residence of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser in nearby Fleur de Lac Estates, where scenes in the 1974 movie “The Godfather: Part II” were filmed.
“Situated on the shores of McKinney Bay on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore, the four bedroom castle-like property features elements of Romanesque and Gothic architecture throughout and comes with a pier, two buoys and 120 feet of lake frontage,” according to a news release from Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty.
Purchased 45 years ago, the split lakefront estate was converted into a bed and breakfast and named Chaney House after the late owners. The home, 4725 West Lake Boulevard, Homewood CA, was built in 1929 with various shapes, sizes and colors of stones, boulders and decorative pebbles, according to Sierra Sotheby’s.
“This estate is the true embodiment of one of a kind,” listing agent Jacqueline Daniels of Sierra Sotheby’s said in a news release. “While most homes in Lake Tahoe follow a similar mountain modern design style, this home mixes elements of old Tahoe while also being completely unique simultaneously.”
There are practical advantages to living in a stone house, Daniels told the Bee.
“(It) is very calming. You are surrounded by soothing natural (two-foot) deep rock walls that lend a peaceful, quiet setting,” she said in an email. “In addition to the sound buffering the stone walls provide, the home stays cool in the summer. In the winter, once the house warms up by using the large fireplace or forced air furnace, the house stays very warm.”
Stone houses are a link to Lake Tahoe’s geological history, but are not common, Daniels added.
“The stone architecture is quite rare around Lake Tahoe,” she said. “In my 10-years of selling real estate in Lake Tahoe, I’ve toured only a handful of stone homes.”
The durable architecture can also be seen in the so-called Little Stone House in the small gated community of Elk Point. Available to rent, that house was built in 1927 with granite from the excavation of nearby Cave Rock Tunnel, according to the AirBNB listing.
A few years ago stone houses still existed in more than two dozen locations on the lake, according to an article on SFGate, with some belonging to original family members.
A soaring fireplace is the central focal-point in the Chaney House living room, which is adorned with 21-foot cathedral ceilings supported by traditional scissor beams. The home also features a formal dining room, a spacious kitchen and three outdoor stone patios with lake views.
Situated on a .71-acre parcel with a circular gated driveway, the property includes a garage with unfinished living quarters above, a bunk house and a large storage shed, according to the listing.
The home first hit the market in June 2019 for $3.6 million, according to realtor.com. It was listed at the current price of $3.495 million in late May 2020. There’s a contingent offer on the property.
“For a family that wants space and land on the West Shore with direct lake access, this home presents a rare opportunity to blend a desire for a unique architectural design with all of the perks of living lakeside,” Daniels said.
