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Old Cribs: Wilt Chamberlain

These photos popped up in search when I was working on my previous post about Wilt Chamberlain’s early years at KU.  A more recent set of photos was posted when the house went up for sale. A short article by the architect of the house discussing the inspiration behind this unusual design can be found here.

A Brobdingnagian Bungalow With a View

was featured in the Life Magazine in March of 1972.

Aerial view of basketball player Wilt Chamberlain's expansive home.
Built on a World War II anti-aircraft gun sight, Chamberlain's new pad overlooks Los Angeles. © Time Inc.Ralph Crane

Aerial view of basketball star Wilt Chamberlain's $1 million home built in the hills of Bel Air.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain w. dog outside his home.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
The stone-walled pool room reflects Wilt's taste for color and for triangles. There is no right-angled corner anywhere in the house. © Time Inc.Ralph Crane
Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain swimming in his pool.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
Wilt's "X-rated room" is paneled in mirrors, upholstered with sofas, and dominated by a fur-covered waterbed.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
When not in use, Wilt's size 14 sneakers and his number 13 Lakers' uniform shirt hang in a 25x6 cedar wardrobe closet tended by his housekeeper.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
A 16-foot Venetian glass chandelier dominates the dining room and $17,000 worth of custom-made chairs.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
Among the concessions made specifically to Wilt's height are a wine rack high off the floor, an oversized shower, and a 14-foot-high front door.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
On a cantilevered balcony, Chamberlain overlooks his pyramidic living room.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane
One of the Wilt's three Great Danes sleeps on his master's bed beneath a sliding roof. The spread is made from soft fur muzzles of Arctic wolves. He bought 1,500 of them from the Alaskan bounty hunters eight years ago.© Time Inc.Ralph Crane