The Nobel Prize–Winning Physicist Who Named the Quark Lived in This $4.6M Pasadena Home

Location: 1024 Armada Drive, Pasadena, California

Price: $4,599,000

Footprint: 5,307 square feet (5 beds, 5 baths)

Lot Size: 0.32 acres

Year Built: 1956

Architect: William E. Blurock

From the Listing: "Believed to be one of only a few private homes ever designed by William E. Blurock, this striking residence is quietly tucked behind mature landscaping within Pasadena’s storied, National Register–listed Prospect Historic District. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home is anchored by an aspirational reverse floor plan that lifts the main gathering spaces to the upper level, which has soaring living-room ceilings, a copper-clad fireplace, and a bespoke midcentury light fixture stretching the entire length of the living room that washes the interiors in a welcoming, warm light. A dramatic open-plan stairway becomes a sculptural centerpiece for the home, animated by inset colored-glass panels and highlighted by cork flooring and an architectural railing wrapped in wood. Below, the floor plan opens around a zen-style garden and an expansive pool, with a private pool house/guest studio completing a resort-like retreat built for modern California living. Flagstone, stucco, and a subdued facade let the house blend in effortlessly among the district’s Craftsman and period-revival landmarks. The home carries a remarkable provenance as the longtime residence of Nobel Prize–winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, who lived here during his most creative years at Caltech. The scientist who named the "quark" and reorganized our understanding of the building blocks of matter found his home in a house designed, quite literally, to lift its inhabitants toward the light and the view."