They built a lavish concert hall in this Sacramento-area home. See it, hear the acoustics
An 8,700-square-foot house for sale in the small Sierra foothills town of Nevada City comes with a unique feature: a majestic concert hall built inside the home.
The two-story home is owned by Tom Dalldorf, the former editor and publisher of Celebrator Beer News, one the first craft beer newspapers in North America. With deep roots in Nevada City and Grass Valley, Dalldorf is not only known for being a beer connoisseur but a writer and musical performer.
His and his wife Arlene’s three-acre estate is on the market for $1.9 million. Nevada City is 60 miles north of Sacramento, California.
The stately concert hall spans nearly 2,000 square feet. The ceilings soar 24 feet high. The floor is made of polished inlaid cherry wood. And the acoustics are professionally engineered. There’s a raised stage, and stairs lead to a mezzanine level that connects the two wings of the large house.
Harvard Glee Club performs
The Harvard Glee Club, founded in 1858, is among the renowned musical groups that have performed in Dalldorf’s hall. The choir is the oldest collegiate chorus in the United States.
“So 50 voices strong, you can imagine young men in sports coats and ties all the way around (the stage), up the stairs and around the top (mezzanine level) for an audience of about 40 to 50 people,” Dalldorf said. “So that’s 100 people in the hall. It was magical because they sang everything from Gregorian chants to Billy Joel and everything in between. It was pretty amazing.”
While the house is on the market, the auditorium continues to be used. On Sunday, Dalldorf is presenting “An Evening Wasted ... The Music of Tom Lehrer” with pianist Anni McCann.
The property was once home to E.D. Bridges, who owned the Pine Grove Quarry in Nevada City, according to Dalldorf. Bridges built his home there in the late 1800s using granite from the quarry as a foundation. Some of the original granite remains today as ornamental pieces around the estate.
Rebuilt on historic property
In the late 1980s, Allan Hayes, a Harvard Law School graduate and symphonic enthusiast purchased the home, completely tore down the old structure and rebuilt a new house from the stone foundation up, according to listing agent Brian Puleo of Gold Group Realty and public records.
There’s much more to the seven-bedroom residence than just the music hall, beginning with the chef’s kitchen off to the right of the large foyer. Guests enter the music hall to the left of the formal entryway.
Absolute Black granite countertops, offset by lighter Carrara marble, immediately grab the attention in the kitchen. So do the upscale Viking appliances, including a stove with high-heat wok burner that Dalldorf said “is like cooking on the tailpipe of an F-16.”
A butler’s pantry is attached to the kitchen. The entire food prep area can accommodate a staff of 10, according to the property listing.
A library, also know as “The Bourbon Room,” is highlighted by wall-to-wall mahogany wood paneling and a fireplace with a marble mantel.
Upstairs, a media room can seat a dozen people. The theater has an LED projector and a 2000-watt sound system.
A side room off the concert hall features a shiny wet bar that leads out to a generous patio and additional outdoor table seating. The property does not have a liquor license so the bar is only used for private occasions, Dalldorf said.
“But I thought a place like this ought to have a proper cocktail bar,” he added. “So that was the idea.”
Powered by solar
The gently sloping grounds are spotlighted by a well-kept barn from the 1880s that is on a separate meter making it possible to add a guest house.
The home is powered by 38 solar energy panels atop the house.
“It turned out to be the perfect south-facing roof with the right pitch — 38 panels, and they offset the PG&E charges,” Dalldorf said.
Puleo, the listing agent, said there are endless possibilities for what a potential buyer might do with the property, including renting the venue for weddings and receptions, running a bed-and-breakfast inn, operating it as a private music school or even a yoga retreat. It could serve as a recording studio for a musician, too.
The property at 11417 Red Dog Road is only three minutes from Broad Street, where much of the Gold Rush city’s entertainment and attractions can be found, including museums, galleries, shops and restaurants.
Nevada City, surrounded by forest, is known in part for the Victorian Christmas celebration that takes place on its hilly, holiday-decorated streets with authentic gas lamps, wandering carolers dressed in the fashion of the era, street vendors and roasted chestnuts.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
