An architectural marvel that sits atop a giant boulder-like rock overlooking a lake in Idaho has hit the market for just under $10 million—more than five decades after the mastermind behind the property pulled off a feat of engineering brilliance to bring the vision to life.
The 2,190-square-foot “House on the Rock,” which sits on the edge of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Harrison, features enormous walls of glass that offer panoramic views of the water, making it feel like you are “floating” atop the lake, albeit without ever having to worry about motion sickness.
“It literally feels like you’re on a boat but you’re not moving. You have views all the way around you and it is so stunning, even on bad weather days. It’s just absolutely the best waterfront view I’ve ever seen,” listing agent April Gunther with eXp Realty in North Idaho reveals.
It is the kind of property that is both alluring and perplexing in equal measure; at first glance, it appears almost impossible that the home has survived on its rocky perch for so long without slipping into the water that surrounds it on three sides.
Yet Gunther notes that, while the property’s perch might seem precarious, it has undergone rigorous rounds of engineering that ensure it will occupy that plot for many years to come.
“[It’s] engineering. It’s anchored into the rock and it had to go through an engineering process,” she explains.
“Everywhere you look, you feel like you’re in the middle of the lake. The water is completely surrounding you. Normally you have quite a distance to go to get to the water, and with this, you’re living on the water so it’s a completely different feeling. It’s so hard to explain unless you actually experience it.”
The house, which arrived on the market on May 27 with an asking price of $9.49 million, has been configured with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
However, its current owners—who connected the home to the main sewer line—have also added two cabins that each have two walls of glass and feature their own spectacular views over the water.
“They are so cute,” Gunther says. “They’re just little bedroom cabins.”
Though the home itself only dates back 50 odd years, the 3.5-acre parcel on which it sits—and even the rock itself—features a rich history that begins in the late 1800s, when the Fort Sherman military post was constructed on the shores of the lake.
“The soldiers there would board steamboats and go across the lake and there was just a kind of a platform that was built up on top of that rock and they would dance,” Gunther explains, adding the symphony from Spokane would also sometimes steamboat over to the site to play.
“The soldiers would bring their ladies and they’d dance the night away and then they’d get back on the steamboat and go back across the lake.”
After the military post was abandoned in the early 1900s, the site became home to a boys camp, until the land was purchased by the mastermind behind the house.
“He imagined putting a guesthouse up on top of that rock and that was what he did in the 1970s,” Gunther says. “He built that guesthouse and it has evolved a couple of times and it has changed since he originally built it.”
Plans for further evolution have already been drawn up by architectural firm Olson Kundig, which has crafted a vision for a reimagined main house and an ADU. Those plans will be conveyed with the sale.
The home site is more than 3 acres and has 320 feet of water frontage with a boat dock.
“The grounds behind the house are just flat and lush and storybook beautiful, so you really get the best of both worlds,” Gunther continues. “You get this beautiful land attached to [the rock house] and then you get to live in the lake.”
The property also includes deeded land within the ultra-prestigious Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club, whose members or property owners include Wayne Gretzky, Mark Walhberg, Chris Pratt, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian.
“In order to be a member at Gozzer, you have to own the property in Gozzer so there are very few waterfront homes with that access and availability to Gozzer,” Gunther explains.
“I really imagine this buyer wanting the Gozzer lifestyle but also wanting the waterfront lifestyle and being walking distance to the lake club.”
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