Historic house in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Butterfly House, is a Mid-century modern style house built in 1951 located on Carmel Point in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Due to its unique wing-shaped roof, this building is commonly referred to as the Butterfly House. The house was designed and built by architect Francis W. Wynkoop. It is one of the few houses that is on the rocky Carmel shoreline.
History
The Butterfly House was designed and built by architect Francis W. Wynkoop (1902-1978). The site borders two lots at 26320 Scenic Road. Construction began in 1951[1] and was completed in 1952.[2] The home has been featured numerous newspapers and magazines through the decades, such as The Californian on June 28, 1952,[3] the National Geographic in 1954[4] and Trendsideas on November 7, 2011.[5]
The Butterfly House was built for $135,000 (equivalent to $1,642,033 in 2022). Wynkoop lived in the house with his wife and children until the death of his wife in 1953 and his father in 1954 caused him to sell the house in 1955.[6] Wynkoop sold it to lawyer and Acting Chief of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Steve B. Kahn, his wife Ruth and three children, who lived in the home for fifty years.[7] It is one of five houses on the ocean front at Carmel Point.[8] Among them is the Mrs. Clinton Walker House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948 and completed in 1951 for Mrs. Clinton Della Walker of Pebble Beach.[9]
Architectural style
The Butterfly House is a 1+1⁄2-story, Mid-century modern-style building. It has a wing-shaped hipped roof, lifted to take advantage of the view. The house was built with a deck cantilevered out over solid granite rocks, at the edge of the breakers, with views of Point Lobos and Carmel Bay. Inside the 3,700 square feet (340 m2) house are three bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, an office, media room, and a circular fireplace in the center of a 48 ft (15 m) by 27 ft (8.2 m) sunken five-sided, glass-walled living room. The house had an U-shaped interior open courtyard and a kidney-shaped pool and hot tub.[6][2]
Wynkoop had to drill into the granite rock to sink caissons 5 ft (1.5 m) below the ground-level and covered them with reinforced concrete. He used steel beams to support the roof that was lifted outward to give a sweeping view of the ocean. 18,000 pounds of steel are inside the home. The house is built of pumice block to blend into its surroundings.[2]
Recent history
Recently the Butterfly House has been featured in several issues of the Architectural Digest magazines. The third owner, Joe Walter, purchased the property in 2008 and Wynkoop's sons, Thor and Jay Wynkoop, did the restoration of the home in 2010. They restored the home to many of its original features.[10][11]
The current owners purchased the Butterfly House in 2014 and renovated it.[6]
In 2023, the Butterfly House sold for $29 Million.[12]
