The Ellinwood House at 2799 Pacific is back on the market, with a budget-friendly asking prices of $12,500,000. Built in 1894 for Dr. Charles Ellinwood, president of Cooper Medical College (precursor to Stanford Medical Hospital), the massive Colonial Revival located at the corner of Pacific and Divisadero is San Francisco Landmark 207. The property underwent a 3-year $10 Million renovation in 2000, featuring a four-story main house with 11 bedrooms, 11 full and 2 half bathrooms, spa, 75’ lap pool, and Tiffany-style dome - not to mention, a carriage house that includes a fitness center and caretaker’s apartment. Foreclosed upon in 2009, 2799 Pacific was officially repossessed by the bank in 2011 with a minimum bid of $10,000,000. Today the property is back on the market asking $12,500,000. The house is ripe with multi-generational drama. Originally constructed by J. Eugene Freeman (designer of Oakland’s Dunsmuir House and a slew of Pac Heights mansions) for Dr. Charles N. Ellinwood, the house once occupied the far outer city limits at Divisadero. In 1850, Divisadero was the dividing line between the City and the Presidio, and the Ellinswood House was one of the earliest homes located right at the boundary. Dr. Ellinswood was one of the officers in the U.S. Public Health Service and founder of the Marine Hospital of the Presidio. In 1902 he became the president of Cooper Medical College, which would eventually become Stanford Medical Hospital. By 1907, he was forcibly removed from the presidency following a financial management controversy over funneling funds earmarked for the now famous Lane Medical Library. His descendants continued to own 2799 Pacific for over 100 years, including a bizarre 50-year stint from 1928-1978 when the house sat vacant and was rumored to have been used by the CIA to spy on the nearby Russian consulate. A later descendant, Alice Ellinwood, lived in the house alone and bankrupted herself in an attempt to restore it. In 2000, the most recent owners underwent a massive $10 Million renovation that added the swimming pool, supposedly removing part of the garden that contained a rose bush that was a gift from Queen Victoria. By 2009, the mega mansion went into foreclosure, with a bank cash price of $10,000,000. Shockingly, no one showed up with cash in hand, so the back had to forcibly kick out the defaulting owners in 2011. The house is now being marketed by Neal Ward Properties.
· 2799 Pacific Ave [RedFin]
· 2799 Pacific Ave [Neal Ward Properties]
· San Francisco Landmark 207 [SF Planning]
· Two Years Later And The Bank Gets Its Mansion Back [SocketSite]
· A Landmark District Seven Mansion Foreclosure (2799 Pacific) [SocketSite]
· Reshaping History [Sotheby’s]
· Stanford Medical Hospital History: The Ellinwood Affair [Stanford University]
· Dr. Charles Ellinwood Accused in Writing [San Francisco Call]
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