LAKEWOOD —A nondescript white-picket fence running along the east side of south Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood encloses a unique yet little known part of Jefferson County.
It also happens to be the highest priced home for sale in the greater Denver area, currently on the market for $27.7 million.
Sitting on top of a hill next to Ward Lake on 122 acres, the property is home to a 14,000-square-foot, 26-room European-style estate, three staff cottages, a lake with boating privileges and a beach, horse stables and unobstructed views of both downtown Denver and the mountains.
PHOTOS: $27.7 million home for sale in Lakewood
“This estate has been owned privately for more than 60 years, since the Taylors bought it in 1951,” said Nancy Wolfe, who along with her husband, Fred, has co-listed the property through LIV | Sotheby’s International Realty the Wolfe Group and Tye Stockton. “Unless you were personal friends of the Taylors or dignitaries, you wouldn’t have known the property was there.”
A dressage ring, tennis court, two barns and an outdoor pool are also part of the Taylor Estate, home to the late Vernon “Moose” Taylor and his wife, Ann, who purchased the property in 1951.
Built in 1932, the home was designed by famed Denver architect Burnham Hoyt, who also designed Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Denver Public Library Central Branch.
“The interiors remain elegant, comfortable and welcoming, with an Eastern stamp of hospitality,” said local architect Tom Matthews. “The house is one of Hoyt’s finest designs, with subtle demarcation between public, private and service areas.”
While heads of state, presidents and royalty — including Henry Kissinger, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne and Gerald Ford — stayed at the property, the Taylors themselves were fascinating in their own right.
The couple enjoyed the privacy afforded by the property while becoming well known, jet-setting socialites who played a large role in putting Colorado and their winter getaway of Vail on the international map.
Vernon Taylor was the former president of Westhoma Oil, who proposed to Ann Bonfoey shortly after she sold him a pair of ski pants at an East Coast ski resort.
Their son Vernon Taylor III said both his parents had larger-than-life personalities and were known for their philanthropic work. His dad earned the nickname “Moose” for both his size and athletic feats playing high school and college football.
After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1939, the elder Taylor flew sorties from an aircraft carrier stationed off the Aleutian Islands as a World War II naval aviator. After the war, he joined the family oil business.
Ann Taylor was one of the first women to have a pilot’s license. She also designed women’s ski wear, competed in Wimbledon and was a member of the women’s Olympic ski team. She was also a flight instructor for Army and Navy pilots in World War II and regularly went fox hunting in England.
On a recent tour of the estate, Vernon Taylor III — the eldest of four sons the couple had — walked through the paneled library, banquet-sized dining room and nine bedrooms with antique furniture, and recalled a childhood spent on the property.
Many a summer afternoon was spent at the dock by the lake, Taylor said. Most mornings his mom would saddle up to run her horses through a series of jumps on the property while winters were spent in Vail. All the while, his parents hosted a steady stream of both local and global luminaries.
“Both my parents had remarkable charm; they’re no longer here, and all of us at our ages have our own lives and houses,” Taylor said. “It’s just time to move on and sell. It’s been in our family 64 years now.”
Taylor and the realtors all stress the ideal buyer will leave the property as is. They vow to take their time in waiting for the right buyer who will continue in the adventurous spirit of the previous owners. Since being listed last fall, fewer than a half-dozen potential buyers have scouted the estate.
“If you look at the East and West Coast, to get something comparable to this, you’re looking at well over $100 million,” Stockton said. “The sheer size of the property and it being 20 minutes from downtown Denver, the 270-degree views of the mountains, it’s totally unique compared to anything offered along the Front Range right now.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abriggs
