Once described as a "dot.com wunderkind," Halsey Minor has had his share of press, good and bad. Present at the births of both CNET and Salesforce.Com, Minor has also taken some very public lumps over tax and cash-flow problems. He bought 3800 Washington Street during a real estate acquisition tear in 2007 for an amount that's never been clear— $18,000,000 to $22,000,000 depending on the source and after it had been on the market for almost two years— but has managed somehow to hang onto it. Fast-forward five years and the place is back on the market for $25,000,000. The 8-bed, 7-bath local version of Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon also comes with a 7-car garage, a 3-bed, 3-bath guest house and an extra lot that's currently the overgrown backyard. Despite all that, it's possible the house is such a dog none of his creditors wanted it.
Better known as the Koshland Mansion after the people who built it between 1902 and 1905, it's described by the city as a "known historic resource" as a "modified replica of the garden facade of Le Petit Trianon" but inside it's your standard grim Edwardian, just in stone instead of redwood. And presumably not in good condition. Most of the listing pictures are of the central skylit hall and aerial views, plus earlier this month the property had its second abandoned building violation thrown at it. One only has to look across the street at Erich Mendelsohn's 1950s Russell House (which could sell for $25M in a heartbeat) to see how the concept of a mansion would change after WWII.
· 3800 Washington Street [Redfin]
· For a Mogul, Money and Magic Touch Have Limits [Bay Citizen/NYTimes]
· Petit Trianon [Chateau de Versailles]
· Abandoned Building Complaint [SF Dept of Building Inspection]
· In Presidio Heights, This Was "The Very Last Word In San Francisco Houses" [Curbed SF]
Loading comments...