A few years after she became the widow of Robert Louis Stevenson, Fanny Osborn-Stevenson commissioned Willis Polk to design a house for her near the top of Russian Hill on a site that once had a view to the Pacific Ocean. What is now a 6-bed, 6-bath, 2-.5-bath, 4- car garage, 1-elevator mansion came on the market last week asking $14,900,000. The house once faced a private park (some of the immense cypresses are still visible, looking east) and currently faces many thousands of tourists drawn by the crooked bit of Lombard Street.
It was even larger back in the day, stretching around the corner west down Lombard Street, big enough to become a convent and then split off at a later date. The Lombard building had a sad story of neglect, while the main house has since been grandly embellished and altered. It was most recently sold in 2011— in probably what not an arm's length transaction, but between trusts— for either $9,000,000 or $15,000,000, depending on which public records you're looking at. And now, every gilded, ruched and polished surface can be yours, along with the honor of appearing as the background in hundreds of visitor's photos. Have any old memories of this place? have you been inside? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
· Russian Hill: Joyriding Tourists, Fanny Stevenson's Leftover Ghosts [Curbed SF]
· 2323 Hyde Street [Sotheby's Homes]
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