Overlooking the bow on the Barber Tract

This week we visit an oceanfront La Jolla home in the exclusive Barber Tract, where the listing promises that “sitting in the living room feels like being a captain, overlooking the bow of your ship” as waves break on the beach below.

The residence, sited at 301 Vista de la Playa, was originally built in 1955 and according to tax rolls underwent its last major round of renovations in 1980. It features five bedrooms with seven baths, spread across 3718 square feet of living space on a quarter-acre bluff-top lot.

Per the listing, the home is tucked away “on a quiet cul-de-sac with an unassuming street presence,” and despite its relatively small size (for multi-million dollar mansions), is “surprisingly spacious.” The residence and garage wrap around a private courtyard with pool deck and barbecue area.

Inside, the spacious great room features vaulted, exposed-beam wood ceilings, fireplace, and a wall of windows looking out onto the Pacific. The “fully equipped kitchen” opens to the dining portion of the great room as well as the pool courtyard and features Viking and Sub-Zero commercial-quality appliances including two dishwashers, a butcher block center island, and mosaic tiled counters.

The master bedroom has two oceanfront window walls and access to a wrap-around deck, all the other bedrooms (and most rooms in the house) look out either toward the ocean or into the courtyard, many with direct access to the outdoor spaces.

In addition to the central court, there’s a brick patio out back flanked by grass lawns and a private staircase offering direct access to the beach below. Just three houses north lies Mitt Romney’s La Jolla estate, famous for its lavish (yet never completed) remodel plans that ran afoul of neighbors and city planners for non-payment of permits, and for attracting beachfront protests in the run-up to the 2012 election. It’s also reportedly been offered for sale, though the home was never officially offered on the open market.

According to public records, the Vista de la Playa house last sold in 2006, when film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., son of actress Frances Howard and the pioneer motion picture mogul Samuel Goldwyn, transferred the property to fellow producer Meyer Gottlieb for an undisclosed sum.

The home was listed for sale in late July, the first time it’s been offered for sale to the public in at least 25 years, with buyers invited to submit offers between $12 and $14 million.