The Old Hollywood History of St. Croix’s Skyhawk Villa

A late-night real estate rabbit hole led an architect to his next renovation: a midcentury movie star’s abandoned cliffside manse built by a disciple of modernist masters.

Five years ago, architect and hotelier Chris Pardo, cofounder of the boutique ARRIVE hospitality brand (now part of the popular Palisociety hotel group), found himself knee-deep in several design projects on St. Croix. "I’ve always loved the island," says Chris, who first learned about the tropical locale through a real estate brochure when he was just 12 years old. "As I was flipping through, I found this property for sale called the King Christian Hotel. It was forty rooms on the waterfront in St. Croix and selling for $700,000."

Even at that young age, something drew Chris to the hotel—and the island at large—and nearly three decades later he purchased the property with plans to renovate. "I’d been in the hotel business for a while," he says, noting that by the time the pandemic hit, he had two major hospitality projects underway on St. Croix (with plans for more) and was spending at least 50 percent of the year on the island, often crashing long-term at a buddy’s place. "That’s when I started looking for a permanent house," Chris says. "I couldn’t just keep staying with my friend for the rest of my life. At a certain point you’re like, Okay, I’m too old to be couch surfing."

Chris kicked off his search one night while browsing real estate listings—a hobby he admits to indulging when insomnia hits. "I was looking on auction.com," he remembers, "and I saw this house. It was one of only three properties for sale in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and I couldn’t believe I didn’t recognize it."

Before: The St. Croix villa was in rough shape when architect Chris Pardo found the listing.

Courtesy Chris Pardo

Punching the address into his phone, Chris saw that the house was perched on a cliff overlooking St. Croix’s main town, Christiansted. The image on the listing had been taken from an odd angle, making it nearly unrecognizable as the landmark villa just up from the bay, visible from the main highway. "I realized that I see this house every single day," he says, "so I just drove up there. It was completely abandoned. The fences were all falling down, so I climbed inside and walked through it. The house wasn’t in great shape—it had plants growing through the floors, old furniture everywhere, and it needed a lot of repairs and updates."

Despite the derelict conditions, Chris saw through the mess and knew the property had potential. "First I saw the view," he says, noting the unobstructed sight lines to the lush green hills and bright-blue harbor. "Then, there was the swimming pool. Even though it was broken up and in bad shape, the fact that it was already there meant I could fix it." The structure’s distinctive footprint—two round towers connected by a breezeway—and original terrazzo floors were an added bonus.

Before: Though in decay, the structure had good bones, featuring two round towers connected by a breezeway overlooking a pool.

Courtesy Chris Pardo

After his late-night scouting session, Chris started digging for the house’s history, sifting through Google for mentions of the property. His search led to articles about midcentury Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara and her third husband, Charles F. Blair Jr., who moved to the island in the 1970s. Blair, an aviation pioneer made famous by his 1951 solo flight over the North Pole, had launched a commuter airline, Antilles Air Boats, in Christiansted Harbor in 1963. ("It ended up being the largest seaplane company in the world in its time," says Chris.) The couple hired Wisconsin architect John Randal McDonald—who, in the 1940s studied under the likes of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, and Louis Kahn at Yale—to design their St. Croix villa, from which O’Hara could watch her husband take off and land from the port below.

Before: The property takes its name, Skyhawk Villa, from the Antilles Air Boats logo (seen above left on its old French doors from the breezeway). The towers first served as separate wings: one for the original owners, Irish-American actress Maureen O’Hara and aviation pioneer Charles F. Blair Jr., and the other for the couple’s guests, often members of the Hollywood jet set.

Courtesy Chris Pardo

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Old Hollywood History of St. Croix’s Skyhawk VillaRelated stories:

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