Anthony Russo has directed some of the biggest movies in history. Now one of his houses is looking for a blockbuster ending of its own.
The “Avengers: Endgame” co-director and his wife, actress and producer Ann Russo, have listed their Pasadena estate, Arden Villa, for $45 million. If the home sells anywhere close to that number, it would set a new residential sales record for Pasadena, where the current record stands at around $19.85 million.
That is a very large ask, even in Southern California luxury real estate. But Arden Villa is not a normal Pasadena mansion. It is a nearly three-acre historic estate with a century of architectural pedigree, a deep film and television résumé, and one of the most famous backyard ponds in television history. The Russos bought the property in 2019 for about $15.6 million. That means a sale at the full $45 million asking price would represent a gross paper gain of roughly $29.4 million before accounting for renovation costs, taxes, commissions, and carrying expenses. And based on the scale of the restoration they undertook, those renovation costs were probably not small.
Here is a drone video tour from above the home that I found on YouTube so you can understand the scale of Arden Villa:
Arden Villa’s History
Arden Villa was built in the early 1900s for William Kennon Jewett, a mining tycoon and railroad heir. The Palladian-style estate was designed by noted architects Sylvanus Marston and Garrett Van Pelt, and Pasadena later designated the property as a Historic Monument. Hidden behind hedges and a gated driveway, the estate has the kind of old Hollywood grandeur that is difficult to replicate today.
The property spans about 2.95 acres. The main residence measures approximately 16,000 square feet and includes six bedrooms, formal entertaining rooms, a theater, and a long list of luxury upgrades. There is also a detached midcentury guesthouse of roughly 2,500 square feet with four bedrooms, its own pool, and a separate driveway.
Combined, the compound offers more than 18,000 square feet of living space, with eight bedrooms and 13 bathrooms across the estate. The grounds include gardens, a greenhouse, a tennis court, multiple pools, a pool house, a spa, outdoor fireplaces, and the famous lily pond that helped make the property a pop-culture landmark.
That lily pond is not just a decorative feature. It is the site of one of the most memorable scenes in “Dynasty” history. In 1983, the estate served as the backdrop for the soap opera’s famous fight between Linda Evans‘ Krystle Carrington and Joan Collins‘ Alexis Colby. The scene ended with both women tumbling into the water, creating one of the defining television moments of the decade:
The house has not limited its screen career to “Dynasty.” Arden Villa has also appeared in “Terms of Endearment,” “Knight Rider,” and the Oasis music video for “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” It was also used in the Marx Brothers classic “Duck Soup.” Few private homes can claim that kind of cross-generational Hollywood résumé, from black-and-white comedy to 1980s primetime soap drama to 1990s alternative rock nostalgia.
After buying Arden Villa, Anthony and Ann Russo renovated the property with Clements Design. The goal appears to have been to preserve the estate’s historic character while updating it for modern luxury living. The main house now includes a modernized kitchen with premium appliances and a walk-in pantry, along with a gym, game room, movie theater, and wine cellar.
For the Russos, the listing comes after an extraordinary run in Hollywood. Anthony and his brother Joe Russo became two of the highest-grossing directors in movie history through their work with Marvel. Together, they directed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” The last two films alone grossed more than $4.8 billion worldwide.
“Avengers: Endgame” briefly became the highest-grossing movie of all time, with roughly $2.8 billion in worldwide box office revenue. That level of success helped turn the Russo brothers into some of the most powerful filmmakers in Hollywood and gave them the financial freedom to build AGBO, their independent production company.
It also gave Anthony the ability to assemble a serious Pasadena real estate portfolio.
Before Arden Villa, Russo owned another historic Pasadena mansion, the Cordelia Culbertson House in the Oak Knoll district. He bought that property in 2018 for $5.8 million. The Greene & Greene-designed home, completed in 1911, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and represented another major piece of Pasadena architectural history. Russo sold it in 2021 for $6.25 million.
He also previously owned a midcentury modern Pasadena home that he purchased in 2011 for $901,000, remodeled extensively, and sold in 2020 for a little over $2 million.
But Arden Villa is clearly the crown jewel. At $45 million, it is priced more like a trophy estate than a typical Pasadena sale. The number reflects not just square footage and acreage, but history, architecture, privacy, restoration, and screen immortality.
It also reflects a bigger shift in Pasadena’s luxury market. For decades, the city has had extraordinary estates, but its prices generally trailed the flashier Westside enclaves of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades. A $45 million sale would put Pasadena in a different conversation.
Whether Arden Villa reaches that number remains to be seen. The buyer would need to be someone who wants a rare combination of privacy, architecture, Hollywood lore, and Pasadena prestige. But for the right person, the property offers something almost impossible to manufacture: a historic estate that has already lived several famous lives.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.celebritynetworth.com ’
