668 St. Cloud Road (previously666 St. Cloud Road) was a residence in theBel-Air district ofLos Angeles. It was occupied byNancy andRonald Reagan from 1989 until their respective deaths. The interior was designed by Peter Schifando, a protégé ofTed Graber. An auction atChristie's of items from the Reagans' private collections from the house took place in 2016.
The house was purchased by a group of friends forNancy andRonald Reagan for $2.5 million in 1986 (equivalent to $7,171,000 in 2024).[1] The friends included the businessmen Earle Jorgensen andHolmes Tuttle, members of Ronald Reagan's informal "kitchen cabinet" of wealthy supporters and advisers.[2] The house was purchased with an agreement that the Reagans could lease the house with an option to buy it in the future. It was given to atrust under the name of the couple in 1989.[1] The couple repaid their friends with their earnings from the advances on their memoirs,An American Life andMy Turn.[3] They moved to the house in 1989 after leaving theWhite House in Washington, D.C., where Ronald had served aspresident of the United States untilhis term ended that same year.[1] Ronald Reagandied at the house in 2004 aged 93 after suffering fromAlzheimer's disease for many years. Nancy Reagan died at the house in 2016 aged 94.[4]
The Reagans' neighbors in 1987 includedBurt Bacharach,Michael D. Eisner,Henry Salvatori,Robert Stack andElizabeth Taylor.[5]
Nancy Reagan's superstitions regarding the number 666, also known as thenumber of the beast, caused her to ask theGovernment of Los Angeles to change the number of the residence from 666 to 668 St. Cloud Road, which they did.[6]
The couple received numerous notable political visitors at the house including the German ChancellorHelmut Kohl, the Canadian Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney, and the British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher.[7] Many Republican presidential candidates visited the Reagans at the house during their campaigns including fromGeorge W. Bush toMitt Romney.[7] Only the Reagans' children were permitted to visit them at the house during the years of Ronald Reagan's illness.[3]
The house was bought by the businessmanJerry Perenchio for $15 million in 2015.[1] Perenchio owned several properties near the house at the time of his purchase including theChartwell Mansion.[1] Perenchio was also part of the board of trustees for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation since 2000.[1]
The house was demolished by 2020.[8]
The house was built in 1954 in themid-century modern style and stood in 1.29 acres (0.52 ha) of grounds.[1] It was described as a 'California ranch style' house and was considered modest in size when compared with other houses in Bel-Air.[7] Nancy Reagan described the house as "... deceiving, because from outside it looks so tiny".[3] The driveway to the house was lined withbougainvillea.[7] Nancy Reagan grew yellow orchids in the hothouse under the swimming pool.[3] The house had extensive views ofCentury City andDowntown Los Angeles.[7] In 2016 it was 7,200 square feet (670 m2) in size with three bedrooms and six bathrooms over two stories.[1] The house had a swimming pool and landscaped grounds and lawns.[1] The house had an exercise room and wine cellar and two servants' rooms above the kitchen.[3] A 1987 neighbor told theWashington Post reporterLloyd Grove that the house was "... not adequate. It doesn't have good parking facilities. I don't know where they'll put their guests and all that. It's not an architecturally beautiful place. The price, however, was very good".[2]
The interior of the house was designed by Peter Schifando. He had worked underTed Graber who had decorated the family residence of theWhite House for Nancy Reagan.[9] Graber had been a disciple of the decoratorWilliam Haines.[10] Graber retired in 1989 after spending the previous year preparing and decorating the house with Schifando prior to the Reagans' arrival in Los Angeles.[7] Meredith Mendelsohn described the interior style of the house inArchitectural Digest as "a mix of chinoiserie, exoticism, fine antiques, and modern lines".[9] Schifando described the interior as "soft modern" with traditional furnishings combined with the mid-century modern style. Mendelsohn noted that the house was decorated with "Chinese export porcelain, George III–style furniture, Chinese lacquer furniture, midcentury pieces updated in the '80s, Haines Inc. sofas and chairs, State Department gifts, barware, several porcelain dinner services ... and some spectacular bird and fish lamps".[2] Schifando was subsequently assisted by Jonathan Joseph. Joseph once accidentally stood on Ronald Reagan's foot while admiring a tree from the master bedroom.[7] The house included many items of furniture in theHollywood Regency style designed by Haines.[10] The hallway of the house was decorated withFrederic Remington bronze equestrian sculptures ofcowboys.[3] A study in pen and ink byNorman Rockwell of Ronald Reagan striking different expressions hung in the hallway.[3] The sunroom and formal room were decorated with pale-green Chinese wallpaper.[3]An auction of items from the Reagans' private collections from the house took place atChristie's in New York in September 2016 of furniture, objet d'art, silverware and paintings.[10] The sale benefitted the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.[10] Notable items included silver beakers byGerald Benney given to the Reagans byDenis andMargaret Thatcher in 1985 and 1990, and amarine chronometer made byTiffany & Co. given byBarbara andFrank Sinatra in 1981.[10] Two landscape paintings byGrandma Moses and abstract paintings by Frank Sinatra were also included in the sale.[10] Items in the sale with a green sticker placed on them had previously been part of the Reagans'Executive Residence during their time at theWhite House.[10][3]
The house was not visible from the road, with only the gate of the house and the gatehouse occupied by theSecret Service visible during the couple's residency.[3][7]
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34°05′13″N118°26′26″W / 34.08694°N 118.44056°W /34.08694; -118.44056
