Pardee linked to Will Rogers landmark

Will Rogers, one of America's most beloved humorists, was among the first people to reside in a home built by Pardee Homes.

In 1935, George Pardee Sr. was contracted by Rogers to build a 3,300-square-foot, two-story addition to his residence in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The home in the Santa Monica Mountains had a view of the Pacific Ocean.

The addition cost $11,000.

"Today that $11,000 wouldn't even cover the cost of the land upon which to build that size home," said Klif Andrews, assistant vice president of community development for Pardee Homes of Nevada.

Ray Landry, assistant vice president of sales for Pardee in Southern Nevada, said a similar home might be the Plan Four model at Serenade, a neighborhood at the builder's Rancho Las Palmas community in the southeastern Las Vegas Valley. Measuring 3,282 square feet, it is priced at $238,450.

The 13-room addition was designed by the late architect Asa Hudson and included a family room, master bedroom, library, Will Jr.'s room, young Mary Rogers' room, Will Rogers' office and servants' quarters.

"He was always adding on," Pacific Palisades historian Randy Young said. "He also added about four smaller rooms including a sun porch and office, and as far as I know, Mr. Pardee built them all."

What became known as the Will Rogers Ranch, including the home, was donated to the state of California by Rogers' wife, Betty. The late chief justice of the United States, Earl Warren, then governor of California, accepted the deed to the property from Betty Rogers on Aug. 19, 1944. The property is now a state park, and the home is open to the public for tours.

The home, however, was not the only project Will Rogers had requested of Pardee. The builder was also asked to construct a mountain cabin that Rogers intended as a retreat. On the day the cabin was completed, Aug. 15, 1935, Rogers went to see it before he boarded a plane for Alaska, according to Young. The plane crashed, killing the celebrity who liked to say, "I never met a man I didn't like."

George Pardee Jr. and his brothers Doug and Hoyt carried on the family construction company until the late 1960s, when Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. took over. In 1952, the Pardee brothers started building in Southern Nevada, where the company has built homes for nearly 25,000 families. The company still builds in California.

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