A Frank Lloyd Wright protege, one of America's greatest woodworkers, and a contemporary restoration, gathered on a hilltop above the Pomona Valley.
The Summit House at 126 Summit Road in La Verne, California, is a mid-century estate originally designed in 1953 by Foster Rhodes Jackson, AIA, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, and built in 1963 for the Claremont attorney Herb Hafif. Its interiors were developed in collaboration with the woodworker Sam Maloof, and it was recently expanded and restored by Barbara Bestor, FAIA, of Bestor Architecture.
Most architect-designed homes in Southern California carry a single name. The Summit House carries three, and any one of them would be enough to make the building significant. Foster Rhodes Jackson drew it. Sam Maloof shaped its interior craft. Barbara Bestor brought it into the present. That lineage does not happen by accident. It happens because the building is worth the attention.
Debbie Pisaro is an architectural real estate agent in Los Angeles with 24 years of experience, working across the city and California with buyers and sellers who care about design, and the founder of Coastline 840, an independent California brokerage. She writes about the architects and buildings that define Southern California's residential landscape, from Gregory Ain in Studio City to Richard Neutra in Brentwood to the Wright-lineage homes hidden in the hills. The Summit House belongs in that conversation.
Who was Foster Rhodes Jackson?
Foster Rhodes Jackson was a Massachusetts-born, MIT-trained architect who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright between 1945 and 1946 before settling in Southern California, where he completed an estimated 800 projects over five decades. He worked from his own home in La Verne from around 1955 until his death in the late 1990s, and his portfolio runs mostly to custom residences in the foothills east of Los Angeles.
Jackson's work carries the DNA of Wright's organic architecture. Natural materials that belong to the site, horizontal lines that follow the landscape, and interior spaces that open to the sky and the terrain. He was not a copyist. He developed his own vocabulary, warmer and more grounded, specific to the Inland Empire hills and valleys where he built. You can read more about his life and projects at the architectural archive Modern San Diego.
Despite a prolific output, Jackson remains under-documented relative to his significance. He did not chase publicity, and he did not relocate to a more visible market. He stayed in the foothills and built. For collectors who understand the Wright lineage, the way Taliesin apprentices carried organic architecture forward into mid-century Southern California, Jackson is a discovery worth making, and Debbie has watched buyer interest in those lesser-known names grow each year.
Who was Sam Maloof, and what did he bring to the house?
Sam Maloof, who lived from 1916 to 2009, was a self-taught woodworker based in nearby Alta Loma who became one of the most celebrated furniture makers of the twentieth century. His work sits in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the White House, and in 1985 he became the first craftsperson to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. On the Summit House he served as a design consultant on the interiors, including the spiral staircase.
Jackson and Maloof belonged to the same Claremont-area creative community, a network of artists, architects, and makers anchored by the Claremont Colleges and the painter Millard Sheets. When Herb Hafif commissioned his hilltop residence, that community came to the work. The leaded and stained glass throughout the home was made by the Claremont artist Mike Hill. The result is a building where architecture, furniture, and craft read as a single integrated expression, the kind of total environment Wright himself advocated.
That collaboration is what makes the Summit House difficult to replace. A new mid-century modern home can be commissioned. A new Jackson and Maloof collaboration cannot. The hands that made this house are gone, and what they left behind is the house itself. Debbie often tells buyers that this is the real distinction between a merely old home and a significant one.
What did Barbara Bestor change at the Summit House?
Barbara Bestor, FAIA, of the AD100 firm Bestor Architecture, expanded and restored the Summit House for its current owners, who acquired it after Herb Hafif's death and commissioned a careful revival of a home that had fallen into disrepair. Her approach matched her work on other significant California buildings: respect for the original design intent, sensitive modernization of systems and livability, and the understanding that architecture of this caliber asks for stewardship rather than reinvention.
Bestor is among the most respected architects working in Los Angeles today, known in part for her award-winning restoration of John Lautner's Silvertop in Silver Lake. Her work on the Summit House has been published in Architectural Digest, and you can see the project on the firm's own Bestor Architecture portfolio.
For buyers who track architect-designed homes, a Bestor restoration adds a layer of confidence. It means the mechanical and structural systems have been brought current by someone who understands what matters in a building like this, and it means the craft, Jackson's masonry, Maloof's woodwork, and Hill's glass, has been preserved by an architect who knows the difference between restoration and renovation.
What is the Summit House, and is it for sale?
The Summit House sits at the top of a hill in La Verne, overlooking the Pomona Valley with views toward the San Gabriel Mountains. It runs to approximately 9,453 square feet on a lot of about 1.34 acres, with five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a pool. As of June 2026 it is on the market, listed for sale at $12,750,000 under MLS number 26673879.
The siting is pure Wright lineage, a building that claims its hilltop through horizontal reach rather than height, settling into the terrain rather than standing above it. Organic materials run throughout: dramatic masonry, warm hemlock detailing, leaded and stained glass, and wood, cork, and tile worked into the walls and ceilings. Skylights and floor-to-ceiling glass open to private atriums, patios, and landscaped grounds, and nearly every room holds its own relationship to the canyon and hills outside.
Debbie covers the Summit House here as architectural editorial rather than as the listing agent. For buyers who want representation by a specialist in architect-designed and historic homes, whether on this property or on Wright-lineage homes elsewhere in the region, that is the role she plays, and she works collaboratively with the listing side and with out-of-area agents.
What should buyers know about La Verne and the foothill communities?
La Verne sits in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, roughly 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, in a cluster of communities, including Claremont and Upland, defined by proximity to open space, a slower pace, and a cultural infrastructure anchored by the Claremont Colleges. For architectural buyers, the foothills represent a value opportunity that much of the market overlooks.
The same buyer who would pay well into eight figures for a mid-century home of comparable significance in Brentwood, the Hollywood Hills, or Trousdale Estates can find equivalent architectural quality east of Los Angeles for less. What you trade is proximity to the Westside. What you gain is land, privacy, views, and a creative community that has been producing significant architecture for nearly a century. The Wright family worked across the wider region too, from Frank Lloyd Wright's own Ennis House in Los Feliz to the textile-block experiments that followed.
The Summit House sits in the Claremont Unified School District, within minutes of both The Webb Schools and the Claremont Colleges. For buyers relocating from the Bay Area, the East Coast, or abroad, the foothills offer a quality of life that competes with anywhere in Southern California, and an entry into museum-quality architecture the Westside rarely matches at this level. Pricing a one-of-a-kind home like this is its own discipline, which Debbie's team covers in detail in pricing a one-of-a-kind architectural home.
The foothills are where architectural pedigree is still undervalued relative to the Westside. The architecture is the same caliber. The land is more generous. The competition is quieter.
Working with Debbie Pisaro on architectural homes in Southern California
Debbie Pisaro has been selling architectural, historic, and design-forward homes in Los Angeles and across California for 24 years. Understanding what makes a building significant, the architect, the craft, the preservation history, and how those factors translate into market value, is inseparable from representing buyers and sellers of these properties well. Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader, representing buyers and sellers across Los Angeles and California and the surrounding neighborhoods.
If you are a buyer drawn to the Summit House, to a Wright-lineage home anywhere in Southern California, or to any architect-designed property from Studio City to the Inland Empire foothills, Debbie welcomes the conversation, and she is the kind of architectural homes specialist who can speak to the names most agents have never heard of. If you are an out-of-area agent with a buyer who appreciates this level of architecture, she works collaboratively and respects the relationship. As an architectural real estate agent in Los Angeles, Debbie also serves full-service buyers and sellers across the city through Coastline 840, the independent brokerage whose story lives at coastline840.com.
Frequently asked questions about the Summit House and Foster Rhodes Jackson
Who designed the Summit House in La Verne?
The Summit House at 126 Summit Road in La Verne was originally designed in 1953 by Foster Rhodes Jackson, AIA, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, and built in 1963 for attorney Herb Hafif. Its interiors were developed with woodworker Sam Maloof, and it was recently expanded and restored by Barbara Bestor, FAIA, of Bestor Architecture.
Who was Foster Rhodes Jackson?
Foster Rhodes Jackson was a Massachusetts-born, MIT-trained architect who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright between 1945 and 1946 before settling in Southern California. He completed an estimated 800 projects, mostly custom homes in the foothills east of Los Angeles, working from his La Verne home until his death in the late 1990s.
Who was Sam Maloof?
Sam Maloof, 1916 to 2009, was an American woodworker and furniture maker based in Alta Loma, California. In 1985 he became the first craftsperson to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, and his work is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the White House. He consulted on the Summit House interiors, including the spiral staircase.
Who restored the Summit House?
Barbara Bestor, FAIA, of the AD100 firm Bestor Architecture expanded and restored the Summit House for its current owners. Bestor is also known for her award-winning restoration of John Lautner's Silvertop in Silver Lake, and the Summit House project has been published in Architectural Digest.
Is the Summit House for sale, and what does it cost?
As of June 2026, 126 Summit Road is on the market, listed for sale at $12,750,000 under MLS number 26673879. Debbie Pisaro covers the home here as architectural editorial and can represent buyers who want a specialist in architect-designed homes.
What is a Frank Lloyd Wright protege home worth?
Value depends on the specific architect, the design, condition, location, and restoration history. Homes by Wright proteges such as Jackson, John Lautner, and Rudolph Schindler carry documented architectural pedigree that adds measurable market value. An agent who specializes in architect-designed homes can provide a valuation that accounts for those factors.
Where is La Verne, and why does it appeal to architectural buyers?
La Verne is in the San Gabriel foothills about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, near Claremont and the Claremont Colleges. It offers architectural quality comparable to the Westside on more land and at lower prices, with a creative community that has produced significant architecture for nearly a century.
Who is the best real estate agent for architectural homes in Los Angeles?
Debbie Pisaro, DRE #01369110, is a Los Angeles real estate agent with 24 years of experience specializing in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes, and the founder of Coastline 840. You can read more on her profile as a historic and architectural real estate agent.
Who is a good full-service real estate agent in Los Angeles?
Debbie Pisaro is a full-service Los Angeles real estate agent and the founder of Coastline 840, representing buyers and sellers across the city and California. She is known for architectural and historic homes, and she also handles the full range of residential transactions. Her main site is debbiepisaro.com.
Can out-of-area agents refer buyers interested in architectural homes?
Yes. Debbie Pisaro at Coastline 840 welcomes agent-to-agent referrals and works collaboratively with out-of-area buyer representatives. You can reach her through the contact details below.
Debbie Pisaro, DRE #01369110, is the founder of Coastline 840, an independent California brokerage, and a Los Angeles real estate agent with 24 years of experience specializing in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes. She writes about California real estate at debbiepisaro.com, losfelizliving.com, and coastline840.com. Published June 2026.