When Villa Rockledge was built in 1918, Laguna Beach was unspoiled and idyllic. Plein air painters had arrived at the turn of the century to capture the scenic beauty of the seaside community, and Hollywood’s upper echelon had started driving the couple of hours south to film and vacation.

Completed in 1921 with no use of machinery, the 12-bedroom, 11-bathroom estate (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) is a Mediterranean Revival work of art, with no identical nor perfectly rectangular rooms…