On the market: 1100 Lombard Street, an unhealthy-looking beige apartment house overlooking the line of cars containing idiots waiting their turn to drive down the crooked part of Lombard and get their picture taken by other idiots, is available for $1.85M, having been purchased for $1.94M on December 31, 2008 and on the market since October 2009 when it was listed at $1.998M. Described as four one bedrooms and a penthouse with rents ranging from $612 to $2188 and in sad condition. Sadder still, the house was designed and built by no less than Willis Polk for Fanny Stevenson, and severed at some point, possibly for a Carmelite convent, from the immaculate and elegant yellow house on the corner we think of as the Stevenson house. Which is for sale for $18M. Both are much altered; not a whole lot of Willis or Fanny left, but apparently a few ghosts.
On the other side, there's 1112 Lombard, a 1940ish Georgian-style mansion on the market for a year that's been price-chopped from just shy of $5M down to $3.65M, which is pretty fabulous inside in a noirish way (we've been.) Maybe it would have sold if the listing pictures were in black-and-white. 1112 Lombard also closed escrow on December 31, 2009 for $3.06M and yes, they have the same owner. Any number of scenarios here but we'll just blame it on the tourists- whatever "it" turns out to be.
· 1100 Lombard Street [Redfin]
· On the Market: Colonial Fortress in Russian Hill [Curbed SF Archives]
· Level Down: Sperling Looking to Offload [Curbed SF Archives]