La Jolla home of Dr. Seuss goes on the market for $9.95M

The La Jolla estate that once was the home of Theodor Geisel (better known to the world as Dr. Seuss) and his wife, Audrey, is for sale for $9.95 million.

The approximately 5,000-square-foot house is owned by UC San Diego and comes with a pool and pool house on 1.51 acres at 7301 Encelia Drive. The Jason Barry Team of Realtors at Barry Estates is handling the sale.

The estate, designed in 1950 by master architect Thomas Shepherd, “was thoughtfully built around a pre-existing Spanish Revival observation tower dating back to 1923-24, created to showcase the site’s remarkable outlook,” according to the Jason Barry Team.

As many as 42 of Geisel’s 68 published works were written at the house, including the famed children’s books “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Lorax” and “Green Eggs and Ham.”

The house was renovated in 1995, but the tower and office were kept in place. Both the tower and the office have been designated as historic by the San Diego Historical Resources Board and must remain through any future renovations.

Geisel lived in the house for some four decades until his death in 1991. Audrey died in 2018.

Afterward, the house was donated to UC San Diego. According to the Stull Act — which regulates the sale of any surplus property owned by the University of California — certain steps must be taken to sell the property.

“It has to be marketed for a certain amount of time, and that time will be from now to April 15,” Barry said.

Bids must be sealed and submitted, and on April 16, the bids will be opened and UC leaders will decide whether to accept one of them.

“A lot of people have asked if they can come in and make an offer to buy it [now], and the answer is no, you can’t,” Barry said.

UCSD previously put the house on the market in 2022 and followed the same process. But none of the bids was accepted.

Two of the lots that surround the house were sold by UCSD last year for a total of $9 million.

Barry said he expects the house to “go for at least full price,” citing attractions such as the impressive ocean view.

“This view is second to none,” Barry said. “To have the panoramic view … sweeping up the coastline … is nothing less than stunning.”