This is another home I’ve wanted to tour for years. 
This 1960 deemed Class 1 historic site designed by William Krisel, is where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon. It’s also referred to as “the pleasure dome”and “the Alexander residence” – as it was the home of designer Robert Alexander, his wife Helene, and daughter Jill. They lived there from 1960 – 1965. Very sadly, both Robert and Helene passed away in a tragic plane crash. Jill went to live with her aunt in Los Angeles.
Leonard Alexander, great uncle of Jill’s, leased the house to Elvis and Priscilla Presley. They honeymooned here in 1967.
After that, the house passed multiple hands: from a reclusive wife of a rancher to another owner cited by the city for letting the pool turn into a mosquito swamp. It was then repossessed by a Boston bank in 1987. Leonard Lewis purchased the house from the bank and turned it into a sideshow.
Bringing us to the new owners who had the sensible mantra of “how would the Alexanders do it” and made some renovations like adding a private balcony, raising the kitchen to accommodate modern furnisings and a brand new ceiling in the master bedroom.
The 4,700 square foot home has four living spaces within four 12-sided polygons. The four 30-degree-angled dodecagons (In geometry, a dodecagon, or 12-gon, is any twelve-sided polygon) rest at the four points of two facing , 45-degree triangles. Inner triangles comprise hallways and rooms connecting four main spaces.
The shape of the pool mimics the roof – which creates an ascending orientation.
Doors can be drawn to close off sections of the house away from public gatherings.
Thank you Modernism for opening up this home for our self-guided tour. We’re very happy to have finally seen it.
Photos: d. king
Modernism tickets still available at:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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