Glen Park's Owl House Will Raise an Eyebrow for $3.25M

In a city filled with character, Glen Park's Laidley Street is surely one of the quirkiest and coolest thoroughfares of them all. Nearly every house on the street feels special in some way, and the Owl House designed by architect Jeremy Kotas is one of the most unique. The home gained its name thanks to its curving features that resemble eyebrows, according to a 1992 article in the Noe Valley Voice. Kotas was responsible for several of Laidley's distinctive homes and described the Owl House when it was built as "adventuresome." It's now up for sale and looking for $3.25 million.

According to the Noe Valley Voice article, neighbors hated the house when it was first built and called it Hell House. It was neighborhood children who renamed it. Neither Kotas nor the home's initial owners seemed to give a hoot about those early detractors, and the house has since become quite beloved. Kotas explained that the house was built as a "progress from dark to light, and from past, down below to the future." He also said that he was "concentrating on that aspect of a building that's hardest to pin down, which is being alive and in it."

The home is currently split up as a triplex; a main house with two bedrooms and two additional one-bedroom rentals. Architectural plans have already been drawn up to convert the place to two units and will come included in the sale. In its current state, the home is amazing. Two-story windows soar alongside the main living space, corrugated siding runs up the height of the interior, and staircases spiral and twist throughout. A geometric fireplace in the main room is like no other fireplace we've seen in San Francisco, and a bright red kitchen and bathroom provide the accents.

The incredible Laidley Street views are on full display, and the entire setting is as verdant and leafy as the nearby Harry Street steps.

· Full Text of Noe Valley Voice, October 1992 [Archive.org]
· 140-142 Laidley Street [Redfin]