BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- In cities like Bakersfield, anything built before World War II qualifies as a really old building. Well, then, what do we make of the Holtby Estate, built in 1888?  By the way: It’s for sale. Not that Robert Holtby would recognize it. The influential devel oper and business pioneer died at age 45, just four years after the home was completed. It stayed in the family for a half a century, however, until his daughter sold it in 1941 to W.B. Camp, who had made a fortune in cotton. That’s when the property really blossomed. The plantation style columns and wrought iron fencing were added in front and the home, at 701 Oleander, really took on a palatial feel. The Molina family bought it 25 years ago – just the fifth family to live in the 137-year-old estate. Now the kids are grown and property is for sale for $1.39 million. That might seem like a lot for Bakersfield until you tour the place and experience its warmth and grandeur. That’s a rare combination.  Terri Collins of Watson Realty is listing the property. “The main house is 4200 (square) feet, and we have three bedrooms and 4-½ baths in the main house,” she said. “Then you have the Paris Cottage, which is a one bedroom, and then we have the Italian Cottage, and then you have the Beach Cottage, as they call it, like a beach with its own terrace, so there is a total of 2250 square feet more. The whole living space is 6450 square feet, approximately.” $500 reward offered for exotic bird stolen from Hart Park’s Peacock House It’s beautifully, classically decorated, right down to the wallpaper. “The story goes that Jacqueline (Kennedy) Onassis tried to get something similar to this for the White House while she was there,” Collins said. “So it’s coveted.” Some of these furnishings might come with the house, Collins said.  The place is built for entertaining, inside and out. “They built this (dining) room big enough to have probably 20 people at dinner,” Collins said.  If the Holtby Estate has a vaguely presidential feel, that’s because a one-time president passed through. Holtby’s daughter Roberta owned the place at the time. “Teddy Roosevelt stayed here in the second bedroom, which they still call the Roosevelt Room,” Collins said. Hard to imagine the Bull Moose sprawled out on one of those narrow mattresses, but maybe the times were different. There’s definitely a vibe here. “It brings me to tears,” Collins said. “It's so magnificent. The entire property is so completely unique, there’s just nothing else like it.  That’s the beauty of it, it’s emotional in here. That’s why everybody stays so long, I think.” The Holtby Estate is the oldest home Collins has ever listed, she says. Is it the oldest surviving home in Bakersfield, period? We’d love to see one that can top 1888. ...read more read less