Top Property: 'Steamboat Willie' house in Sherman Oaks listed for $2.27M

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. - Hailing from a time when turquoise countertops and classic thermometers were all the rage, 4024 Murrietta Ave. in Sherman Oaks was brought to life by an architectural icon for an animating genius. 

“He was the original animator who inked every frame of Steamboat Willie,” says Fisher. 

Steamboat Willie is the animated short in which Mickey Mouse made his debut in 1928. Over the years, Iwerks’ work earned him multiple academy awards and, in 1958, afforded him the ability to enlist Lautner to build his dreamboat home. 

Fisher points out that aerial images of the home show it is shaped like a boat and he thinks that’s by design as a tribute to Steamboat Willie. 

The two-story home is just over 3,100 sq. ft with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Most everything is authentic to Iwerks including many of the light fixtures, hardware and incredible architectural detail. 

With its turquoise Formica countertops and original Thermador appliances, the kitchen is filled with nostalgia. 
Downstairs, the junior and master suites lead to a perfectly private oasis of a backyard.   

The one historic amenity that is invaluable here: the original Lautner plans that come with the home. 

Fisher refers to them as works of art and expresses just how important it is that the next owner be somebody who understands the provenance of the home. 

“Somebody who will be a good steward for it going forward,” says Fisher.

The asking price for Iwerks’ Mickey Mouse house: $2,279,000.