Rare Long Beach gem: a Greene & Greene

It’s rare to find a Greene & Greene house in Long Beach. Of those documented, there are only three. Most of the remaining 50 to 60 Craftsman-style bungalows designed and built by Charles and Henry Greene in the early 1900s are in Pasadena and its environs.

This house is in an architecturally diverse residential neighborhood known as the Virginia Country Club, developed in the 1920s during the oil boom in Long Beach and Signal Hill. The house was built on another site in 1904 and was moved twice before winding up on its current lot, once part of the Rancho Los Cerritos land grant.

The house was originally on an oceanfront corner. Its first owner was Jennie A. Reeve, a civic leader and founder of the Long Beach Public Library. Reeve had a daughter who owned a modest Greene & Greene house, designed as a rental, in Long Beach.

Reeve traveled extensively with her friend Adelaide Tichenor, owner of the third Greene & Greene in Long Beach. The women were actively involved in developing their houses with the brothers. Reeve and Tichenor spent two years collecting and studying Asian art for use in the homes.

About this house: The private Virginia Country Club is adjacent to the residential area of the same name. The 18-hole golf course was built in 1939 by William P. Bell. It was most recently redesigned in 1989 by Robert Muir Graves.

The seller, Jacque Heebner, has lived in the house for 18 years. Heebner partially restored the home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Asking price: $1,990,000

Size: There are seven bedrooms, including a library and an office, and three bathrooms in about 4,400 square feet. The lot size is about 31,000 square feet.

Features: The home has the distinctive Greene & Greene characteristics -- the use of a variety of woods in the interiors as well as stained-glass light fixtures and chandeliers.

In addition, the property has a solarium, a 60-foot-long living room, an updated kitchen and a detached garage with bonus room/gym. On the grounds are a pool, sauna and redwoods, firs, oaks, maples and pines.

Where: Long Beach, Virginia Country Club, across the street from the golf course.

Listing agent: Susan Rose, Coldwell Banker, Studio City, (818) 528-2240; and Carolyn Faber, Coldwell Banker, Long Beach, (562) 619-8674.

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos on a CD and a brief description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; or e-mail [email protected].