Peek Inside Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Vintage 1940s Home For Sale

Four years after purchasing his LA property, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently listed his vintage Franklin Hills residence for $3.85 million, slightly more than what he paid for it back in 2015.

At 3,771 square feet, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom time capsule home offers an iconic view of downtown LA. Designed by Paul R. Williams in the late 1940s and many of the home’s original elements still remain, including the beamed ceilings, peg-and-groove flooring, and inglenook fireplace, original cabinetry and bathroom tile.

“It’s such a special property—there’s magic to this house,” Compass listing agent Courtney N. Smith tells Realtor.com. “The property is comprised of four and a half lots, with views of the Griffith Park Observatory to the ocean out the front, and in back you have views of the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains.”

Another standout design detail about the home is its U-shaped floor plan. It sits on a little more than a third of an acre and features a formal sitting room, a family area outfitted with a brick fireplace, a built-in bench and walk-in wet bar along with a vaulted and beamed ceiling and picture windows that grant a generous view of the mountains. There’s also a separate formal dining room with breakfast nook, a sewing room/office and a pine-paneled laundry room.

While it “will require some updates, most of its ’40s-era charm is extremely intact,” says Erik Gunther, Realtor.com’s celebrity real estate expert. Each of the bedrooms boasts its own en-suite bathrooms, where the home’s vintage style is prominently displayed in its vibrant colors. Additionally, one bedroom maintains its original dressers and built-in wardrobes.

In the tree-filled backyard, a redbrick terrace surrounds the swimming pool. Also in the space, there are a pair of open-air changing rooms, a gated motorcourt and a three-car detached garage.

Smith describes the property as a “time capsule house that lives in a modern way, a vintage home that feels contemporary,” but notes that the majority of the home’s mechanical systems will need to be upgraded.