You’ll find uniquely designed homes on foothills east of Las Vegas — PHOTOS
February 27, 2017 - 1:14 pm
Updated February 27, 2017 - 8:13 pm

Architect Bob Larson built the Victorian Home on Frenchman Mountain. “We built it up here because it was the only place we could afford the dirt,” said Bob’s wife, Sharon Larson (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Architect Bob Larson was inspired by GlenMorey Country House, in Placerville Calif. To built the Victorian Home on Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

John Henry Hoffman had this classic New Mexico adobe home built on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain in the early '90s. He and his wife Gloria still in the neighborhood. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The Victorian Home on Frenchman Mountain has been meticulously detailed and furnished by Bob and Sharon Larson, who completed the home in 1991. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A wrap around porch offers a wide view of the valley from the Victorian Home on Frenchman Mountain built and owned by Bob and Sharon Larson. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Bob and Sharon Larson don’t entertain as much as they once did, but the interior of their Victorian Home on Frenchman Mountain still looks like it’s ready for the task. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain has a porch that overlooks the pool below. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A bottle art window is the focus of one end of Barb Eagan’s back porch at her home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain has a porch that overlooks the pool below. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A sunken conversation area greets visitors to Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Southwest accents and colors are the key design elements of Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A pair of saguaro cactus stand high above the low water-use front yard at Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The front yard at Barb Eagan’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain feels inviting despite the scores of cactus. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A 35 foot stainless steel firepole can take visitors from the top floor to the basement and the home theater at Jay Wittwer’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The view from a top floor window at Jay Wittwer’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain is typical for the neighborhood. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Ron and Jocelyn Jensen’s home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain features redwood exterior walls. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Ron and Jocelyn Jensen’s had a hard time convincing their contractors that they really wanted exposed ductwork when they built their home in the mid’70s on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Ron and Jocelyn Jensen’s relax in their home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. Ron Jensen designed the home following the contours of the land which resulted in a floorplan with multiple levels. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Ron Jensen’s strolls through the landscaping of his home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. Jensen created the landscaping, including the mortarless stone wall. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

Ron and Jocelyn Jensen had the pool at their home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain reduced and added a waterfall feature. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The view from the high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The central spiral staircase in the high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain is made of one inch thick steel. It is one piece of metal and had to be sent out of state to be bent. It took six hours to thread the staircase into the front door and into the stairwell. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain stands on the edge of civilization. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The staff of Vegas Views,the high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain can change the lighting in the home to virtually any color from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

The high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain allows visitors to dine in style. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

When the staff of Vegas Views remodeled the high-end rental home at the end of Probst Way they replaced the pool with an infinity pool. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A Japanese style home on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain was built by a man to please his Japanese wife. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress

A geodesic dome is just one of dozens of unusual homes on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain. (F. Andrew Taylor/View) @FAndrewTPress
In the quiet, rural neighborhood on the foothills of Frenchman Mountain east of Las Vegas you can see a Victorian mansion, a geodesic dome and a pagoda, all within a few blocks of one another. On the inside, some of the houses have even more distinctive features, such as walls that can be changed remotely to nearly any color, a bottle art window and a 35-foot fireman’s pole.
“That’s what happens when you don’t have a homeowners association and you have a lot of free thinkers,” said John Henry Hoffman, who has built two homes in the neighborhood. “People out here have built their dream homes in the style they like, and that’s the way we like the neighborhood.”
Hoffman, a retired dentist, and his wife, Gloria, lived in New Mexico for a while and when he built his first home on the hill, he made it in the style of that state’s adobes. Later a neighbor built a home in New Mexico territorial style adobe.
EARLY ADOPTERS
When Ron and Jocelyn Jensen built their home in the early 1970s, there were only two homes nearby, and an elderly woman lived in a cave at the end of Bonanza Road.
“We were both teachers, so we didn’t have much money,” Jocelyn Jensen said. “We bought this land for $7,500, and Ron designed our home following the shape of the land. That’s why it’s on five levels. Most of the people who came later just put in a bunch of fill to make it level.”
Ron and his wife’s uncle built the home, only bringing in outside help for plumbing, air-conditioning and electrical work.
The home has redwood exterior walls that the Jensens were assured would be fine in the Southern Nevada climate as long as the wood was treated. The yard is full of Ron Jensen’s art, much of it built with found materials.
“It’s a labor of love,” Jocelyn Jensen said. “Every rock has been hand-placed by Ron.”
A REAL STANDOUT
Even in this unusual neighborhood, Bob and Sharon Larson’s Victorian mansion stands out.
“When they saw the plans, a lot of the neighbors complained about it and said it belonged east of the Mississippi,” Sharon Larson said. “People called us The Addams Family or The Munsters”
The couple is not creepy, kooky, mysterious or spooky. Bob Larson is an architect who went to school in northern Utah and fell in love with the Victorian-style homes there. Their home’s design is inspired by a Victorian bed and breakfast.
The home is full of white lace, antiques and delicate woodwork details. Paintings by Bob Larson and stained glass bring bright colors into the cheery interior. Despite that, people insist on attaching weird narratives to it, the Larsons said.
“Three or four months ago some gal came to the door and asked if this was the house that was the haunted orphanage,” Sharon Larson said. “We don’t even decorate for Halloween.”
VIEWS AND UNUSUAL FEATURES
Most people who live on the hill cite the view as a main reason they moved there. Realtor Barb Eagan has one of the smaller homes in the area, but a better view than many.
“It’s an eclectic neighborhood,” she said. “You’ve got big houses next to small, you’re away from the sidewalks and streetlamps and the prices for an acre or half-acre are really inexpensive.”
Her former neighbor Jay Wittwer was a North Las Vegas firefighter for 29 years and recently moved away to become the fire chief in Tukwila, Washington, near Seattle.
His home includes a three-story spiral staircase with a 35-foot stainlees steel fire pole running down the center.
“When we would have people over, everyone had to try on it,” Wittwer said of the pole during a phone interview.
AN ELITE RENTAL
Most homes on the hill are private, but if you want to see inside the house at the end of Probst Way, you can go to bestvegasviews.com or rent it for a month for $40,000.
The builder bought the home seven years ago, gutted it and put in a new floor plan. He also removed palm trees that blocked the view of the valley and moved the pool, replacing it with an infinity pool. Custom LED lighting can change the colors on the walls.
The 180-degree view of the valley is one of property manager Steve Stallings’ favorite elements of the home.
“I come out here and do … air landscape painting sometimes,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of spectacular sunsets.”
To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.