Own a part of Nevada history: Hammargren’s home on the market for $2.5M
Now’s your chance to own a piece of Nevada history — Hoover Dam replica, non-working decompression chamber and Liberace staircase included.
One of the three homes previously owned by Lonnie Hammargren, at 4318 Ridgecrest Dr. in Las Vegas, is on the market for $2.5 million.
Hammargren, who passed away in 2023, was a former university regent, lieutenant governor and brain surgeon, who became a local celebrity for his eclectic collection of artifacts and memorabilia, opening up his home on Nevada Day to show off his crazy compilation. With over 10,000 artifacts, it eventually swallowed up the two neighboring houses.
The current owners bought the Ridgecrest Drive house at auction in 2017 after the home fell into disrepair and went into foreclosure. The other two Hammargren homes are owned by his widow Sandy and the Astronomical Society of Southern Nevada, which Hammargren was an active member.
“It was totally dilapidated. It wasn’t livable,” said Angie Hatcher, real estate agent for the property. “He (the current owner) spent so much time doing the not fun things, like all the electricity, putting in all new ACs, all that. But he also wanted to preserve it because he loved it.”
But rest assured, the home remains as kooky as it always was.
On paper, the home is 7,268 square feet, with four beds and five baths, six-car garage, a family room and dining room, kitchen and a caterers kitchen, marble floors, as well as a pool. But, it doesn’t end there.
Everything “attached” to the home comes alone with the purchase, said Hatcher, but most everything is negotiable.
“People that are looking in the luxury market are looking for amenities that this house is not going to have because it’s not your typical luxury property,” said Hatcher. “It’s not going to have, an en suite with every bathroom or like a walk in closet. It’s got character and it’s got function and it’s got emotion, but it does have space.”
So, that includes pieces of iconic Las Vegas history such as Liberace’s staircase from the Riviera show, the Dunes’ stained-glass dome, the sign from the Hacienda Hotel and Casino, a dragon from the Imperial Palace Hotel and even an old mermaid tank from the MGM Grand, which busted open and flooded the neighborhood in 2011.
It also has odd amenities and architecture such as a planetarium, a cross bolted to the ceiling, a fully-mirrored bathroom, original artwork commissioned by Hammargren himself and, of course, the pink and purple swirl atop the house.
The home also comes with its own legends, many of which cannot be confirmed. For example, is Liberace’s old dressing room attached to the side of the house? No one knows for sure.
But beware, the home is still listed as the Honorary Consulate of Belize in Las Vegas, so the new owners might get a few knocks asking for passports.
According to Hatcher, the current owners have fallen in love with the home, but are ready to move on from “constantly obsessing about a house.”
Hatcher, who has been in Las Vegas since 2013, feels a lot of responsibility to sell to the right person, even falling in love with the home herself.
“I know how much the neighborhood loves it, I know how important it is to everyone, and I just want to do a good job in representing it,” said Hatcher. “This house brought me back to life. I’ve fallen in love with this house and hope the emotions that this house conjures is carried forward to the next person, and they feel it too.”
Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.