A spectacular waterfront estate on Cape Cod has hit the market for $12.9 million, a price that could rewrite the record books in one of Massachusetts‘ most sought-after seaside communities.

Perched on the shores of Cape Cod Bay in the town of Sandwich, the sprawling property is a “once-in-a-generation” estate—and if it sells anywhere near its asking price, it would easily eclipse the town’s current residential sales record of approximately $3.3 million.

Set amid meticulously landscaped grounds, the estate, which is listed by Michael Harney of Sotheby’s International Realty, spans roughly 16,000 square feet and was designed to make the most of its extraordinary waterfront setting.

Sweeping lawns extend to a private sandy beach, while views stretch across Cape Cod Bay from Plymouth to Provincetown.

The six-bedroom, 10-bathroom residence was created with spacious family living and entertaining in mind, offering room for both large gatherings and quiet coastal retreats.

“A once-in-a-generation waterfront estate, 12 Foxcroft Lane represents the pinnacle of Cape Cod coastal luxury,” reads the listing.

Inside, soaring ceilings and walls of glass give the main living spaces a bright, open feel, with nearly every room positioned to take advantage of the sweeping views across Cape Cod Bay.

The home’s expansive great room centers around a dramatic stone fireplace and flows into multiple seating and dining areas, creating a space equally suited for entertaining or quiet evenings overlooking the water.

“Light-filled living spaces flow seamlessly to exceptional outdoor entertaining areas, while the chef’s kitchen opens to an inviting family room anchored by a magnificent stone fireplace—the heart of the home, where stories are shared, celebrations unfold, and a lifetime of memories begin,” adds the listing.

The chef’s kitchen pairs custom cabinetry with oversized islands and high-end appliances, while large picture windows keep the coastline in view even while cooking.

Several bedroom suites open onto private terraces or balconies overlooking the bay, allowing the waterfront setting to remain the focal point long after the sun sets.

Rich wood finishes, detailed millwork, and a neutral palette give the interiors a timeless feel, balancing the home’s grand scale with an inviting atmosphere.

Among the home’s standout features is a home theater, a professional-grade fitness center, and an infinity-edge pool overlooking the bay.

“The luxurious first-floor primary suite is a private retreat with breathtaking views. World-class amenities include a private theater, professional fitness center, resort-style infinity pool, poolside cabana, putting green, and a private boardwalk leading directly to the beach,” reads the listing.

The property’s combination of privacy, direct beachfront access, and luxury amenities makes it one of the most significant residential listings to hit Cape Cod in recent years.

Outside, a poolside cabana and putting green further enhance the resortlike setting, while a wooden boardwalk provides direct access from the backyard to the beach.

While the region is known for its collection of waterfront homes, estates of this size with an expansive stretch of private shoreline rarely become available.

“More than a home, 12 Foxcroft Lane is a legacy estate—an irreplaceable waterfront sanctuary offering unmatched privacy, extraordinary craftsmanship, and one of the finest beachfront settings on the Eastern Seaboard,” the listing concludes.

Built in 2008—four years after the current owners bought the parcel for just $2.3 million—this residence is being made available for sale for the first time, although the property itself has changed hands on a few occasions in the past.

And while Sandwich might not carry the A-list cachet of places like Hyannis Port, where the Kennedy family has famously owned a compound for decades, or Provincetown, which attracts a host of tourists each year, it offers its own charming amenities as the oldest town on Cape Cod.

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Reports of the murder of Demetrius Doukoullos remain shrouded in mystery with little light shed so far on the motive of the alleged killer.

The 92-year-old was an esteemed luxury residential developer, predominantly focused on the Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach communities. 

Following calls from concerned neighbors, authorities from the Hermosa Beach Police Department found Doukoullos on Saturday and subsequently charged a suspect with felony murder. An indictment alleges that Robert Phillip Simmons, who also goes by Elanor Beaulieu, killed Doukoullos between March 7 and March 14. Police reportedly took the nonbinary suspect, who was dressed in a “Blues Brothers” style suit and fedora, into custody after a seven-hour standoff. 

The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office had yet to specify the manner of death and deferred the cause of death, as of Friday. At the time of his death, the millionaire was retired and living alone, renting a two-bedroom in Hermosa Beach for $6,900 per month from the son of his late business associate Raju Chhabria. His wife Fredda died in 2012. 

Neil Chhabria told the Daily Mail he didn’t have an extensive personal relationship with Doukoullos, but noted he had no idea why anyone would want to harm him.

“Demetrius was very active despite his age and was still driving,” he told the Daily Mail. “He probably built more homes on the Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach Strand than anyone else.”

The Strand is a 2-mile stretch, adorned with high-end mansions typically priced between $5 million and $15 million, though listings as high as $30 million aren’t unheard of.

Notable properties in Doukoullos’ portfolio include a 6,123-square-foot mansion at 104 The Strand in Manhattan Beach. As of Friday, Zillow valued the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom home, which is equipped with a wine room, bar, game room and home theater, at $23.4 million. 

In 2017, the home traded for $18.4 million which, at the time, set a record sale price for the city, The Real Deal previously reported. The buyer was an entity linked to John Baumer, a partner at private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. This sale was quite profitable for Doukoullos who had purchased the site for close to $10 million in 2014 before redeveloping it.

Additionally, Doukoullos was behind 2666 The Strand in Hermosa Beach which spans 7,000 square feet across five bedrooms and seven-and-a-half bathrooms. The contemporary beachfront property sold for $19.5 million in 2023 – also creating a record at the time – and features a home theater, disco room, wine cellar, private elevator and a roof top deck with a Jacuzzi tub.

For yet another property on The Strand, Doukoullos also built 600 The Strand in Hermosa Beach, a 7,850 square-foot-home with an 82-foot beach frontage. The property was most recently listed for $17 million in 2022, before being re-listed for rent instead at $33,000 per month in February 2025. About a month later, the listing was removed, according to Redfin.

Prior to moving into the rental where he died, Doukoullos lived in one of his own projects, a 2,244-square-foot home with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. He sold this property for $7.5 million in 2023, the Daily Mail reported.

Doukoullos’s legacy and development vision will live on through his array of high-profile beachfront mansions.

Read more

Manhattan Beach market reaches new heights with $18.4M deal

LA developer found dead in Hermosa Beach home, suspect arrested in shocking mystery

Manhattan Beach property breaks city record again with $24.5M trade

Understanding how criminal charges, domestic violence allegations, and legal complications can impact family protection and asset management in California

Who This Article Is For

This article is essential reading for California residents who are:

Managing family assets and concerned about how criminal charges or legal complications could affect estate plans

Navigating domestic violence situations and seeking to protect their families legally and financially

Worried about how a family member’s legal troubles might impact inheritance, guardianship, or trust administration

Looking for transparency in understanding how criminal proceedings intersect with estate planning and family protection

What Happened: The Gervonta Davis Case

On January 29, 2026, boxing champion Gervonta Davis was arrested in Miami following a two-week manhunt by U.S. Marshals.The three-division world champion faces serious charges including battery, false imprisonment, and attempted kidnapping stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident at a Miami strip club on October 27, 2025.

Key facts about the arrest:

Davis was apprehended after a multi-day surveillance operation across three counties

The alleged victim, a former girlfriend, filed both criminal complaints and a civil lawsuit

Police documented visible injuries including bruising to the victim’s arm

The World Boxing Association stripped Davis of his lightweight title over the weekend, citing the pending legal case

This arrest adds to Davis’s history of legal issues, including a 2023 hit-and-run conviction that resulted in three years of probation

Source: The Guardian – Boxing star Gervonta Davis arrested on kidnapping charges after two-week manhunt

Why This Matters for California Families

1. How Can Criminal Charges Affect My Estate Plan?

When a family member faces criminal charges, especially involving domestic violence or violent crimes, it creates immediate concerns for estate planning:

Trustee Removal or Disqualification: If someone named as a trustee or executor is convicted of a felony, California courts may remove them from their fiduciary role. Many trust documents include “moral character” clauses that automatically disqualify convicted felons.

Probation Violations: Davis’s new charges in Florida could affect his probationary status in Maryland.Similarly, California residents on probation who face new charges may have their ability to manage estates or serve as agents under power of attorney questioned by the courts.

Asset Protection Concerns: Criminal proceedings often involve civil lawsuits (as in Davis’s case, where the victim filed both criminal and civil complaints). Without proper asset protection strategies, family wealth can be vulnerable to judgments and settlements.

2. What Happens When Someone Can’t Be Located to Receive Legal Documents?

Court filings in the Davis case show that attorneys made repeated attempts to serve him with the civil complaint but were unable to locate him.This creates a common real-world problem:

Estate plans require up-to-date contact information for all beneficiaries, trustees, and agents

When someone cannot be located, probate proceedings can be delayed for months or years

Successor trustees and backup agents become critical when primary appointees are unavailable

3. How Do I Protect My Family from a Member with a History of Legal Troubles?

Davis has faced multiple domestic violence-related allegations throughout his career, several of which were later dropped.For California families dealing with similar situations:

Disinheritance Clauses: You can explicitly exclude individuals from your estate plan, even close family members

Conditional Inheritances: Trusts can include provisions that require beneficiaries to meet certain conditions (such as maintaining sobriety, avoiding criminal activity, or completing anger management programs)

Protective Trusts: Rather than leaving assets directly to someone with legal troubles, a protective trust managed by an independent trustee can provide for their needs while shielding assets from creditors, lawsuits, and poor decision-making

4. What About Domestic Violence Protections in Estate Planning?

The alleged victim in the Davis case had previously been in a relationship with him and had cut off communication before the incident.California law provides specific protections:

Restraining orders can prevent abusers from serving as trustees, executors, or healthcare agents

Healthcare directives can explicitly exclude certain individuals from making medical decisions

Property ownership structures can be designed to prevent abusive former partners from claiming community property rights

Real-World Application: Building a Resilient Estate Plan

Question: “What should I do if a family member I named in my trust has been arrested?”

Immediate steps to take:

Review your trust document to determine if there are automatic disqualification provisions

Consult with an estate planning attorney about amending your trust to name alternate trustees or executors

Consider whether a professional fiduciary (rather than a family member) might better serve your family’s interests

Update healthcare directives if the arrested family member was designated as your medical decision-maker

Assess whether additional asset protection strategies are needed to shield family wealth from potential judgments

Question: “How can I protect my children’s inheritance if their other parent has a history of domestic violence?”

Proven strategies include:

Creating an irrevocable trust that a neutral third party manages until children reach a responsible age

Implementing spendthrift provisions that prevent creditors and ex-spouses from accessing trust assets

Naming a professional guardian and trustee rather than the other parent

Including clear documentation of domestic violence concerns in confidential letters to trustees

The California Probate and Trust Approach to Complex Family Situations

Cases like Gervonta Davis’s arrest highlight why California families need estate planning attorneys who understand the intersection of criminal law, domestic violence protections, and wealth preservation. At California Probate and Trust, PC, we’ve helped thousands of California residents navigate these sensitive situations with compassion and expertise.

Our approach includes:

Confidential consultations where you can discuss family challenges without judgment

Tailored asset protection strategies designed to shield your wealth from legal complications

Clear documentation that protects vulnerable family members while respecting your wishes

Ongoing support as your family circumstances change

Take Action to Protect Your Family Today

Don’t wait until a family crisis forces you to make rushed decisions about your estate plan. Whether you’re concerned about a family member’s legal troubles, need to update outdated documents, or want to ensure your loved ones are protected from future complications, California Probate and Trust, PC offers free consultations to California residents.

Schedule your free estate planning consultation:

Call (866) 674-1130

Visit cpt.law

Offices in Fair Oaks, Sacramento, and San Francisco

Our experienced attorneys will help you understand your options, answer questions like “How can I protect my family from legal complications?” and “What happens if someone I named in my trust is arrested?” and develop a comprehensive plan that provides true peace of mind.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information presented about the Gervonta Davis case is based on publicly available news reports and should not be considered a legal analysis of that specific case. Every family’s situation is unique, and estate planning strategies must be tailored to your specific circumstances under California law. Nothing in this article creates an attorney-client relationship. For personalized legal guidance regarding your estate planning needs, criminal law concerns, or asset protection strategies, please schedule a consultation with a qualified California estate planning attorney. California Probate and Trust, PC is not affiliated with Gervonta Davis or any parties involved in the referenced legal proceedings.

It may sound like a broken record at this point.

A look at 2025’s nine priciest deals had Beverly Hills-based Carolwood Estates’ fingerprints all over them. Six of the nine transactions had Drew Fenton’s brokerage involved in representing at least one side. That comes off a 2024 where Carolwood was involved in half of the year’s 10 priciest deals.

In 2025, the brokerage can lay claim to being involved in the year’s record sales of 594 South Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills and 630 Nimes Road in Bel-Air. Each of the properties fetched $110 million to make for Los Angeles County’s most expensive closings in 2025.

While some have said the year proved to be more challenging in the County’s high end, the following list, compiled by The Real Deal Research, shows what agents were able to still get deals done–with some setting high-water marks while they were at it.  

1. 594 South Mapleton Drive, Holmby Hills | Eric and Wendy Schmidt | $110 million

It turns out 2025’s magic number was $110 million.

The sale of Spelling Manor made for the year’s second trade for that price when it closed in July to tie for the year’s priciest residential sale in Los Angeles County.

Carolwood Estates double-ended the deal with CEO and co-founder Drew Fenton the listing agent on behalf of a reported Saudi national. Meanwhile, Carolwood’s Linda May represented former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy in their purchase.

The Schmidts have plenty of room to work with in their new residence, with over 56,000 square feet. They won’t have to travel far for their daily needs and entertainment. The Manor comes complete with bowling alleys, beauty salons, rose gardens to wander through, library and a professional screening room.

2. 630 Nimes Road, Bel-Air | James Packer | $110 million

Australian billionaire James Packer was so excited over his purchase of the Le Belvedere residence in Bel-Air that he let slip to a hometown media outlet news of the sale before it officially closed.

The former Crown Resorts chair snapped up 630 Nimes Road in May to make for a 2025 record in LA County, holding the top spot alone until Spelling Manor traded for the same price a few months later.

Some of the market’s biggest names had a hand in getting the off-market deal done. 

Packer tapped Carolwood Estates’ Drew Fenton and Westside Estate Agency co-founder Kurt Rappaport to represent himself in the deal.

The seller, a limited liability company tied to European Investment Management Services Inc. with headquarters in Los Angeles, was represented by Carolwood’s Stephen Resnick, Jonathan Nash, David Parnes and James Harris.

3. 28719 Grayfox Street, Malibu | PDPG LLC | $80 million

Who ever heard of a surf shack selling for $80 million? 

In Malibu, that’s just another day and another deal–altough it’s notable that the late July closing marked the city’s priciest for 2025.

The off-market trade was done quietly and involved two shell companies. On the buy side was PDPG LLC, which records trace to a Longview, Texas address.

The seller was a Wyoming LLC, called Surfwatch, managed by Wendy Schreiber Fiske, according to property and state records. The company is tied to a Santa Barbara address that Schreiber Fiske owns with Orlo James Fiske, chief technology officer of electric energy storage tech company Gravity Power.

Compass’ Chris Cortazzo represented both sides in the trade of the roughly 1,300-square foot home, sitting on a 1.4-acre lot. A second, vacant lot was also part of the deal.

4. 10905 Chalon Road, Bel-Air | RoadX LLC | $67.5 million

Hidden from wandering eyes, behind privacy hedges running alongside the street, is the contemporary home once owned by Dara Mir.

Mir is the estranged husband of “Shahs of Sunset” star Lilly Ghalichi, who filed for divorce earlier this year.

The businessman quietly sold the property at the end of June to a Delaware-registered limited liability company called RoadX.  

The hillside property sits on a 1.6-acre lot, with the home spanning roughly 30,000 square feet and includes a sports court and subterranean parking.

Coldwell Banker Realty’s Ben Y. Mason and Joyce Rey were the listing agents, according to the Multiple Listing Service. The buyer was represented by attorney Nima Stephen Vokshori.

5. 71 Beverly Park, Beverly Hills Post Office | Paris Hilton and Carter Reum | $63.1 million

Another celebrity couple made a move behind the gates of Beverly Park when Paris Hilton paid $63.1 million for a mansion in the upscale community.

Hilton and husband Carter Reum reportedly bought the property from Gu Fang, who is married to Chinese billionaire Xu Hang, whose fortune comes from starting medical device maker Mindray Medical International. 

The couple didn’t hold the property for very long but appears to have made a tidy return on their investment. They bought it in 2023 for $55 million from actor Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea Durham, who had originally sought $87.5 million for the over 30,000-square-foot mansion in 2022.

Hilton tapped family to represent her and Reum in the deal: Barron N. Hilton and his wife Tessa Hilton, who were co-founders and co-CEOs of Hilton Hilton up until their departure from the brokerage to Compass in September.

Compass’ Ginger Glass and Alexandra Glass were the listing agents.

6. 1028 Ridgedale Drive, Beverly Hills | Stancheck Capital LLC | $60 million

What a year for James Packer.

Not only was the billionaire and son of late Australian media mogul Kerry Packer the buyer in a deal tied for No. 1 in Los Angeles County residential for 2025, but he preceded that trade about a month earlier with his sale of 1028 Ridgedale Drive. The April closing marked Beverly Hills’ priciest residential sale of the year.

The property was once a rental for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Before that, comedian couple Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman owned the residence for about two decades before they sold it for $26.6 million in 2015.

Packer enlisted Westside Estate Agency’s Kurt Rappaport and Carolwood Estates’ Drew Fenton to represent him in the sale. Rappaport also represented the buyer.

Property and state records indicate the buyer is a shell company called Stancheck Capital, with a New York address tied to accounting firm Spritzer Kaufman.

7. 391 North Carolwood Drive, Holmby Hills | David Zander | $57.3 million

A 1920’s Spanish Villa quietly made its way onto the market for the first time in more than 20 years before being sold in one of the year’s pricier transactions.

The sellers were Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer for CBS soap “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and his wife Colleen Bell, property records show. Colleen held several roles for “The Bold and the Beautiful,” including director of special projects, and was later nominated in 2013 by President Obama to serve as ambassador to Hungary.

The couple sold the home in May to TV and film producer David Zander, according to property and state records.

Revel Real Estate’s Ben Bacal was the listing agent, while Carolwood Estates’ Drew Fenton brought the buyer.

8. 942 North Alpine Drive, Beverly Hills | 942 Alpine Peak | $51.8 million

Napa Valley in Beverly Hills. That’s what the late architect Howard Backen was going for with Villa Oliva, which nabbed a buyer to become one of the city’s more expensive 2025 trades.

The over 12,000-square-foot estate counts six beds and seven baths, sitting on nearly an acre.

Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California’s Aaron Kirman and Carolwood Estates’ Linda May held the listing on behalf of a trust tied to Stephen Paul and his wife Nancy Paul. Stephen’s family holds a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers and also founded steel maker Ampco-Pittsburgh.

The buyer was a limited liability company called 942 Alpine Peak, which tracks to the NBC Tower at 455 North Cityfront Drive in Chicago, according to property and state records.  

Compass’ Carl Gambino and John Bercsi brought the buyer in what was briefly Beverly Hills’ most expensive trade before 1028 Ridgedale Drive sold later that same month.

9. 11740 Crescenda Street, Brentwood | Davidson Construction LLC | $44 million

When Milwaukee Brewers minority owner Robert Beyer sold his Brentwood home, nicknamed Ocho Manos, the purchase price was Brentwood’s highest since a $57 million sale in late 2021 at 13058 Rivers Road.

Beyer originally sought $75 million for the 3.5-acre property and then later reduced the listing price a few times, with the most recent cut in June to $54.9 million.

The estate resulted from several parcel transactions and their assemblage  before a new home was designed and built over the course of about five years. It was completed in 2005.

Property records show the seller was Davidson Construction. A state registration statement ties the company to Westlake Village business Transparent Accounting Solutions Inc. and its owner Evan Ingram.

The Beverly Hills Estates’ Jack Harris and Michael Fahimian brought the buyer. Meanwhile, Carolwood Estates’ Drew Fenton and Andrew Beyer, Beyer’s son, were the listing agents.

Read more

Done deal: Carolwood, Westside Estate Agency close $110M Bel-Air deal

Former Google CEO acquires Spelling Manor for $110M

Malibu residence trades for $80M in one of city’s priciest deals

Architect Louis Naidorf had a disastrous 80th birthday cake. In 2008, Naidorf, who designed the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, was presented with a celebration cake that had been custom-baked in the shape of his iconic cylindrical building. But the pastry soon reflected the rather substantial difference between concrete and flour.

“When the cake was brought out, it gently collapsed, and everyone applauded,” Naidorf says, laughing over the phone from his home in Santa Rosa. “It was like in one of the movies where the Capitol Records building was destroyed.” Thankfully the cake for his 95th birthday, which he celebrated last month, was more structurally sound.

Designated a historic-cultural monument in 2006, the building has long been a favorite Los Angeles landmark to demolish on film — especially for filmmaker Roland Emmerich, who blew it up with an alien spaceship in “Independence Day” and slammed it with twisters in “The Day After Tomorrow.” Yet no movie can ever write the building out of a central place in popular music history. The tower is synonymous with the illustrious Capitol Records, home of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, and the American record label of Pink Floyd and the Beatles, with the latter’s stars lining the Hollywood Walk of Fame right in front of the building.

Over the last several years, the building has been illuminated in support of various sociopolitical causes. In 2020, it was lighted red to support independent music venues. Last year, during their performance in Hollywood, Duran Duran lighted the Capitol Records building blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine. “I think that’s excellent,” Naidorf says. “Anything that vigorously engages the public on the right side of good causes transcends other issues. I’m flattered they use the Capitol Records building. It means it has enough cachet to merit being chosen to do that.”

Like the famous landmark he designed, Louis Naidorf has of late been experiencing his own brush with stardom, with postcards from autograph seekers arriving at his door. He is flattered but doesn’t take the attention too seriously.

“It’s obvious that if someone asks me for four signatures I’m part of trading baseball cards or something,” he says. “They are going to trade four Lou Naidorfs for one Joe Smith.”

Still, he’s surprised and somewhat baffled by the sudden burst of recognition after all these years. “I guess my name ended up on a list or something,” he shrugs.

Naidorf was just 24 years old when he designed the Capitol Records building, in 1953. It was the world’s first circular office building.

Though it was 70 years ago, he vividly recalls how he felt when he received the assignment for his first solo project. “At one level, I felt enormous anxiety that if I didn’t get a solution, very, very quickly, something terrible would happen,” he says. “On the other hand, I felt a total confidence that I could do it. So it was a crazy contradiction.”

Naidorf notes the building’s porcelain enamel sunshades with carefully spaced gaps to play with light and shadow. These cause spiral lines to appear on the building, drawing the eye into a rhythm rather than straight up and down. “You can see Capitol Records from quite a distance and you get a first impression of its basic form and character. You have a reading of it as complete,” he says. “But the building is designed so that the closer you get to the building, you discover more details.”

What about the long-standing myth that its round shape was designed to look like a stack of records with a rooftop antenna resembling a phonograph needle? As hard as it might be to believe, the legendary story about the building is just a coincidence — an urban legend that Naidorf has tried to debunk for decades.

In fact, when his boss, Welton Becket, tasked him with the assignment, the building was simply referred to as Project X. Shrouded in secrecy, Naidorf was given little guidance for the project other than being asked to design a 13-story building on a sloped side street in Hollywood that had to be kept as cool as possible and had smaller than usual floor space. He also didn’t know for whom he was designing it. Naidorf says it was common for clients’ identities to be kept confidential during the initial planning stages of a project.

However, Naidorf relished the creative latitude. The absence of information left him unburdened by preconceived ideas. “I knew the door was open for something special. It urged me so strongly,” he says earnestly. “I felt, and I think all architects feel this way … there’s a drive to translate the mundane bare requirements that clients come in with into something that has some poetic qualities about it.”

Naidorf then had an epiphany: The project’s requirements were “eerily resonant” with a series of circular buildings he had designed for his master’s thesis in college. “The round shape is a very efficient enclosure of space,” he says. “You get more bang for your buck.”

Not everyone agreed with his approach. Naidorf says that Capitol Records co-founder and President Glenn Wallichs became irate when Naidorf presented him with a model and drawings of a round building, and “violently rejected” the design. “He thought it was a cheap stunt designed by a young guy to make the building look like a stack of records,” Naidorf says, laughing.

Wallichs insisted that Naidorf replace the round design with plans for a rectangular building. But when both rectangular and circular designs were presented to the insurance company financing the land, Naidorf says that Wallichs was urged to proceed with the round design.

Soon after, when talk of the building housing a radio station (that never came to fruition) was raised, Naidorf fretted when he was asked to design an antenna. He was worried that it would look like a phonograph needle and cement the idea that the building was designed to look like a stack of records.

Owing to his nagging concern, Naidorf positioned the rooftop spire asymmetrically, poised to appear as if it touches the roof delicately, like “a ballerina en pointe.” He calls it the building’s “grace note.” Still, the stack-of-vinyl myth persists. Laughing, Naidorf says, “It’s the most enduring myth of all.”

Despite his good humor, it leaves him conflicted. “The building was not designed as a cartoon or a giggle. To have it trivialized with the stack-of-records myth is annoying and dismaying,” he says. “There’s not a thing on the building that doesn’t have a solid purpose to it.”

Naidorf’s ingenuity has been especially impressive to Los Angeles-based architect Lorcan O’Herlihy, who says he has “often responded strongly to the fact and admired that here was this interesting architect [Naidorf] who was combining science and art, or artistry and technology. Welton Becket [& Associates], very much to their credit, were at a period where modernism was at its heyday and they had to come up with ideas that were new and fresh and they did it, and Lou was certainly instrumental in that. His work is extraordinary.”

Naidorf was born in Los Angeles in 1928. His father owned a shop where he made and sold women’s clothing, with Naidorf’s mother lining the garments. Owing to his father’s lack of accounting skills and business acumen, however, the business often collapsed, forcing his parents to work at a garment factory until debts could be paid off to reopen the store.

Throughout his childhood, Naidorf’s family struggled financially as they moved around, living mostly in Silver Lake and Los Feliz. With only enough money to rent studio apartments, Naidorf’s parents slept on a Murphy bed while Naidorf spent his nights on a mattress on the floor.

As a little boy, Naidorf felt drawn to buildings. When his third-grade teacher decorated the classroom with a Hawaiian vacation theme, his fascination morphed into a calling. “I asked my teacher who made the drawings and she said, ‘Naval architects.’ And then I asked her who draws the plans for houses and she said, ‘Architects.’ She told me to ask my mother to show me the floor plans that were published in the real estate section of the Sunday edition of the newspaper.

“When I saw them, I was a goner,” he swoons. “I now knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an architect.”

Naidorf remembers, at age 8, designing a three-bedroom house, using a card table as a makeshift drafting table. Soon after, he began designing small towns. “It wasn’t anything brilliant, but I was learning to draw, learning to scale and learning to think in spatial terms,” he says. When he was 12 years old, Naidorf got a part-time job at a bookstore, where he spent his first two paychecks on architecture books, absorbing them until they were threadbare.

Beyond literature, Naidorf amassed a growing collection of architectural materials (T-square, rectangles, instruments for ink drawings), thanks to his bar mitzvah presents, and decided he was ready to get to work. Sanford Kent, a young architect who had just graduated from USC, hired a tenacious 13-year-old Naidorf, paying him out of his own pocket.

Naidorf says tackling the abstract problems Kent gave him at once stimulated his mind and were instrumental in forming his long-standing ethos. “It got me thinking about architecture in terms of its effect on human emotions. The key issue is, ‘How do people respond to your work, whether from a distance or by living it?’” he says.

He continued to soak up whatever he could about architecture, gearing his junior and high school classes toward studying architecture in university. He attended UC Berkeley instead of the privately funded USC, not only to leave home and expand his horizons but also because of its affordability.

Even still, Naidorf couldn’t afford all of the program’s required materials. He borrowed airbrushes from his fellow students, who would also give him their pencil stubs instead of tossing them out. Naidorf submitted his assignments on pebble board, which was not only cheaper than illustration board but allowed him to draw on one side, flip it over and draw on the other.

In 1950, Naidorf graduated at the top of his class and got his master of architecture degree a year early. He skipped his graduation ceremony because he had a job interview the next day at Welton Becket & Associates, where he was promptly hired. Among his earliest design assignments: a tray slide for a hospital cafeteria, a clothes closet and a “Please Wait to Be Seated” sign for a restaurant.

Three years into his employment, he began working on the Capitol Records building. Naidorf says he would design it the exact same way if he were given the assignment today.

Andrew Slater, former Capitol Records president and chief executive (2001-07), attests to the building’s distinctive charm. “When you go to work every day in that building it’s like you’re going into a piece of art, and it informs your attitude … to do something with that mindset, which is great,” he says. “Even though working in the music industry is, in a sense, an industrial endeavor, you never felt like you were doing anything industrial when you walked into that building.”

Still, Naidorf fears being perceived as a “Johnny One Note,” as he puts it. Noting the plaque bearing his name outside the building’s main entrance, he expresses gratitude but wariness “that this one modest project has to carry my whole reputation on it.”

It’s a fair point, given the magnitude of Naidorf’s notable oeuvre. It’s earned him 17 regional honor and merit awards and AIA California’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). His work also has been featured at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

“I know Capitol Records is always the first one people talk about and it’s a splendid, iconic building that fuses artistry and functionalism, but he’s also produced other projects over the years,” says fellow architect O’Herlihy. “The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is brilliant.”

Naidorf designed the 3,000-seat capacity Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on the heels of the Capitol Records building, in the late 1950s. Essentially two buildings in one, it was a challenge to design a locale that functioned at once as a performance space with a sloped floor and an exhibit hall with a flat floor for sports events, banquets and trade shows.

He transformed the floor from flat to tilted using a hydraulic system that was hailed for its innovation. “I don’t think you’ll find any place that has a symphony on a Friday night and a gem show, or some kind of hobby show, on Saturday,” he says.

Formerly home to the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra but currently sitting vacant, the Civic Auditorium opened its doors to the public in 1958. From 1961 to 1968, it hosted the Academy Awards. It also was the site of live recordings including George Carlin’s comedy record “Class Clown” and the Eagles’ “Eagles Live,” a double LP recorded during their three-night run at the venue. It also hosted “The T.A.M.I. Show” in 1964.

In the meantime, while the Civic was still under construction, Naidorf designed the 15,000-seat capacity Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the biggest arena in Los Angeles when it opened in 1959. (The arena was demolished in 2016 to make way for the Banc of California Stadium, now called BMO Stadium.)

Naidorf says the Sports Arena, home to various Los Angeles sports teams including the NBA’s Lakers (1960-67) and Clippers (1984-1999) and the NHL’s Kings (1967-68), was built to attract sports teams to Los Angeles, but uncertainty about whether they’d catch on meant the facility had to be viable for other purposes.

In 1960, a year after it opened its doors, the Sports Arena hosted the first Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where John F. Kennedy became the presidential nominee. Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) won a boxing match there in 1962. It also hosted rallies by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dalai Lama, and saw concerts by legendary rock acts including the Grateful Dead.

Bruce Springsteen played the venue’s final concerts before the building was demolished, a three-night stint during which he dedicated his song “Wrecking Ball” to the building lovingly nicknamed “The Dump That Still Jumps.” “Well, it was pretty dumpy by the end,” Naidorf says, laughing. “Not all architecture is permanent,” he continues. “I’d rather it was demolished and some useful purpose made of the site than having it sit there old, shabby and neglected as it was.”

Naidorf’s credits also include the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Beverly Center and the Reagan State Office Building downtown. Outside of Los Angeles, Naidorf helmed the restoration of the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, a six-year undertaking and then the largest-ever restoration undertaken in the U.S., and he designed President Gerald Ford’s house in Rancho Mirage.

The tallest building in Arizona, the Valley National Bank building (now Chase Tower) in Phoenix, also was designed by Naidorf, as well as the Hyatt Regency Dallas and adjacent Reunion Tower, the most recognizable landmark of the city’s skyline.

He details these and his other high-profile projects in his 2018 book “More Humane: An Architectural Memoir”, filled with photos, backstories and personal anecdotes. Flipping through its pages, one learns that Naidorf not only took risks designing his projects but even risked his job on occasion.

He writes in his memoir that in 1958, when he was designing the Humble Oil (now Exxon) headquarters in Houston, he refused to design separate locker rooms and drinking fountains for Black and white people, as the company asked him to. When he went home on that Friday night, he describes not knowing if he’d have a job the following Monday. Not only did Naidorf not lose his job, he says, but the company ceased segregating its locker rooms and drinking fountains after that.

“I realized architects have access to some of the most powerful people in the world and it is our job to bring up issues that represent social issues rather than just architectural design,” he says. “The only thing for evil to triumph is for good people to remain silent. Architects should not remain silent.”

Naidorf also understood that sometimes he was designing projects where people don’t want to be, like the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, which opened in 1988. “I felt that there were two emotions we had to contend with,” he says. “One was to lay the sense that this would be welcoming and have a more personal quality. But if you go to a hospital you want a quite contradictory thing. You want to have a sense that it’s state-of-the-art, that whatever powerful forces can cure you, they’re there.”

Instead of one medical building, which he felt would seem ominous, he designed several structures and a series of outdoor walkways to make the facility feel warm and comforting. The treatment and diagnostic part of the facility was bold, with an abundance of steel and glass. Walkways were lined with floor-to-ceiling glass to allow patients to see the outdoor courtyard, grass, trees, sky and distant views of a golf course “based on the primitive feeling you have in the hospital, which is to get out of the damn place,” he says.

When he was out shopping a few months ago, Naidorf met a woman who mentioned that she had been in the Navy, forcing her to move around a lot when her son was battling childhood leukemia. Without knowing she was talking to the Naval Medical Center’s designer himself, she told Naidorf that it was the only hospital that didn’t scare her ill 6-year-old son, who has since made a full recovery.

“What kind of an architect…,” Naidorf says, overcome with emotion and his voice breaking, “do you have to be not to hold that as better than any design award?”

Though Naidorf had risen through Welton Becket & Associates’ ranks to become vice president, director of research and director of design, he grew increasingly unhappy after the firm’s merger with Ellerbe Associates (it was renamed Ellerbe Becket). He moved into academia full-time in 1990, spending just one day a week at the firm.

Naidorf became dean of the School of Architecture and Design at Woodbury University, earning numerous distinctions, including teacher, faculty member and administrator of the year. He was also a guest professor at UCLA, USC, Cal Poly Pomona and SCI-Arc. At his retirement ceremony in 2000, he was awarded an honorary doctorate, marking not only the end of his academic career but also his time in Los Angeles.

Charmed by the beauty of Northern California, Naidorf moved up the coast to Santa Rosa. For the next 15 years, he continued working with Woodbury University as campus architect, designing and remodeling some of its buildings, and was invited to be a board member.

When he parted ways with Woodbury at 87 years old, it was not with the goal of taking it easy. Naidorf had other pursuits in mind, including his work with City Vision Santa Rosa revitalizing the city’s downtown area.

He also helped his close friend, Mike Harkins (who edited Naidorf’s memoir), design his new house free of charge after the 2017 Tubbs Fire burned Harkins’ home to the ground and he and his wife lost 99% of their belongings.

“Lou offered without solicitation: ‘I’d like to design your house,’” Harkins says. “To me or anyone else who knows him, it was a heartfelt offer that of course he would make, and yet so much more. One analogy might be if Eric Clapton said, ‘I’d like to play at your wedding.’ The knowledge and sensibility that comes along with a Naidorf design offering is huge, just like his heart.”

Most recently, Naidorf has been experimenting with plans for a project to help people who are unhoused.

Naidorf has made the most of his architecture license over the last 71 years. His voice fills with pride when he reveals that he holds the earliest issued active architecture license in the state of California, obtained in 1952.

“It’s something I wanted to be since I was a little kid. My architecture license was so hard to come by. I don’t want to give it up,” he says with palpable emotion. “I don’t want to be retired. I want to be an architect until I fall over. I plan to be buried as a licensed architect.”

Of recently turning 95, he jokes that he feels like a bad vaudeville performer who soon will be pulled offstage by a hook. But Naidorf remains in remarkably good health after surviving both prostate and esophageal cancer in his 80s.

To keep his brain sharp, he does exercises including counting backward from 100 by sevens and taking IQ tests online.

As a nonagenarian, he says there is no key to living a long life. He suggests, though, that it helps to try to use it well. “It’s not how big the steak is but how tasty it is,” he says. “I think you have to seek a calling, listen for it and search for it. Find something in your life that is really yours. … Get engaged with something that’s going to scare you, something where the problems are hard. And take risks. There is no failure.”

He also notes the importance of adaptability. “I have had four marriages. I’d better be resilient,” he quips. Twice divorced and twice widowed, Naidorf has a daughter from his first marriage, four stepchildren (who call him “Dad”) from his fourth marriage, 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. An intensely private man, he’s reticent to speak publicly about his relationships and family, preferring to focus on his work.

“I remain so fascinated with architecture,” he says. “I cannot even walk past a store where somebody is putting in an electrical outlet without stopping to look in and watch it.”

The chatty Naidorf turns summarily succinct, saying, “I certainly have had a good run.”

Despite cooling interest rates, the title insurance segment at Big Four title firm Old Republic recorded a 22.8% annualized decline in net premiums and fees during the fourth quarter of 2023, which contributed heavily to a 12.8% decrease for all of last year.

During the last three months of the year, the company’s title segment reported that it earned $645.4 million in net premiums and fees. In addition, the title segment also reported a pretax income of $43.9 million, down 2.5% for the quarter.

For the full year, Old Republic’s title segment reported net fee and premium earnings of $2.563 billion, down 33.2% compared to 2022, and a pretax income of $133.5 million, a drop of 56.7%. In its earnings release, Old Republic noted that some of the title segment’s decline can be tied to a 21% pullback in commercial premiums in the fourth quarter and a 22% drop in commercial premiums for the year as a whole.

“As we have discussed on previous earning calls, 2023 was a challenging real estate market,” Carolyn Monroe, the president and CEO of Old Republic National Title Holding Co., said during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors last Thursday. “Our full year premiums and fees reflect those market conditions and were down around 33% compared to 2022.”

Declines in the firm’s title segment were partially offset by growth in its general insurance sector. As a whole, Old Republic reported total operating revenue of $1.9408 billion in Q4 2023, down 2.8% annually, and a net income of $190.6 million, down 62.8% year over year.

For full year 2023, Old Republic reported a total operating revenue of $7.4493 billion, down 10.1% from 2022, and a net income of $598.6 million, a yearly decrease of 12.8%.

Looking ahead to 2024, the century-old firm says it is looking to modernize through improved technology and automation.

“These initiatives improve the efficiency of our teams, which will allow us to take advantage of improving market conditions when they occur with less of a need to scale up,” Monroe said.

“We’re very mindful of the slower revenues, but there’s just some things that when you’re a company that manages for the long run, you have to continue doing. And we are fortunate that we’ve been allowed to continue investing in our technology, and a lot of it has to do with being prepared for with the cyber issues, that type of thing. It just isn’t the right time to really cut back.”

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