A Pasadena home by modernist architect A. Quincy Jones is on the market for just under $6 million.

Perched on a 1.27-acre cul-de-sac lot on a hill overlooking the Rose Bowl, this 1976 house built of steel and glass was recently restored and updated by the current owners, the only people to have ever lived there. Records show a husband and wife, both health professionals, bought the property in August 2023 for $3.975 million.

The house previously belonged to Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, which inherited the property from the philanthropist couple, Iowa lumber heiress Adelaide Finkbine Hixon and her husband, Alexander. They commissioned Jones to design the house on what was their 3.3-acre estate as an entertaining space for large-scale parties and events, including fundraisers.

Adelaide Hixon, who died in November 2019 at 101, bequeathed her estate to what is now the Hixon Center for Climate and the Environment at Harvey Mudd College, which she helped create in 2015, according to the Eichler Network.

The college sold the Hixons’ primary residence, designed by visionary architect Thornton Ladd and completed in 1954, separately from the party house in October 2021 for $2.95 million.

Later, the Jones-designed property changed hands.

When the current owners took it over, they transformed the 7,141-square-foot structure into a home. It has three bedrooms, five bathrooms and expansive common spaces.

“As you walk in, the grandness is striking,” said Aram Gaboudian of Keller Williams Realty, the listing agent. “It warms up as you move into the dining and lounge area where the ceilings are lower and the natural tone of discussion … becomes more intimate.”

Views of more than the Rose Bowl are visible from most rooms. JPL, Brookside Golf Course and the Pasadena skyline are also seen, framed by soaring glass walls.

A hanging fireplace, 35-foot ceiling and glass-walled hallways enhance the architecture of the home, a unique contribution to a town better known for its Craftsman, traditional, Mediterranean and Spanish styles.

According to Gaboudian, his clients replaced unsalvageable doors, windows and glass sliders and restored the wood floors. After lifting the low-pile carpeting, they discovered concrete floors, now newly polished.

Concrete floors also can be seen in parts of the kitchen, which features high-end Wolf and Sub Zero appliances and restored cabinetry. Quartzite countertops replace the original Formica.

The primary suite occupies a private wing of the house with an en suite bathroom and a balcony.

Outside, some of modernist landscape architect Ruth Shellhorn’s original design remains, while others have been reimagined.

“Originally, the Hixons had commissioned an outdoor trout pond,” said Gaboudian, with a laugh. “Trout! My client reimagined that into a koi pond” with a waterfall.

When asked if the home was never listed on the local historic registry, he said his clients never got around to it, deciding to “just let the new owner do it.”