House trapped in 1950s sells for $3m
A three-level Auckland house described as a “mid-century time capsule” off the set of the TV show Mad
Men has been snapped up for just over $3 million by a family with young children who want to restore the property.
The double-grammar zone home sold for $3,050,000 at auction after a “bidding war” between two groups.
The steel and concrete 1950s home on 2020sq m of land in Epsom features a plush leopard-print plumbed-in bar, bamboo beaded curtains, carpet on the bedroom ceiling and a sweeping red steel staircase.
Ray White real estate agent Sho Mehta said bidding at the on-site auction was hectic with two groups desperately wanting it.
He said the winning bid came from a family who “fell in love with the property” and spent more than an hour after one open home walking around taking in all the details.
“They have children ranging from primary age to high school and they want to restore it into a family home,” Mehta said.
The couple also out-bid others to buy the empty section at the front of the property, on 46 Almorah Rd, for $1.5m taking the total purchase to more than $4.5m.
Securing the front section ensured the new owners had total privacy and exclusive use of a long, sweeping driveway.
The house was designed in 1953 by architect firm Rigby Mullan as a bachelor pad for then-single businessman Colin Maclean.
Maclean, who owned Colemax Menswear on Karangahape Rd, died about 20 years ago and his wife Hildegard continued living in the house until her death in December last year.
A close family friend described Maclean as “incredibly talented, someone who loved the stars and music and who could build anything from a house to a transistor radio”.
He ran Tudor Recording Studio from his Epsom home and had an observatory on the front lawn so he and Hildegard could stargaze.
An eight-page spread in Metro magazine in 2001 about the closure of Colemax Menswear revealed Maclean also owned the biggest telescope in New Zealand. Through Tudor Records he produced eightminute messages for mothers to send to sons serving in the Pacific.
Fellow agent Steve Stone said the property was designed for the future and had many hidden design aspects.
Downpipes taking water from the roof are painted bright yellow and form part of Rigby Mullan’s design. Communication is never a problem, with a Maclean-designed internal phone system.
“There are plenty of hidden features that make you realise how clever the design was,” Stone said.