Iconic Potrero Hill home, revamped by 1980s designer, asks $3.4 million

Built in 1875 by dairy farmer Charles Dow, this Victorian on the hill is allegedly the first home built in the neighborhood. One big earthquake and a summer of love later, Italian designer Larry Masnada (designer to such star wattage as Mel Brooks, Diane Sawyer and Frank Sinatra) took over the house in 1985 and transformed it into the gem it is today.

Featuring three beds, three baths, and approximately 3,015 square feet, 1745 20th Street comes with soaring ceilings, marble floors, three stone mantel fireplaces, formal dining room, and—in chilly Potrero Hill, no less—a swimming pool.

The garden, overflowing with Chinese and Mediterranean palms, banana palms, and orchids, isn’t too shabby, either.

But the real treat here is the curbside appeal. This home is begging for a gala. Masnada reportedly threw ostentatious, fabulous bashes here in the 1980s. It would be criminal if the new owners failed to follow suit.

The house has also been featured over the years in print books, most notably in Images of America: Potrero Hill and Joan Hockaday’s Gardens of San Francisco.

Any area residents who have yearned to take a peek inside, now’s your chance.

And any area residents who have wanted to buy the place, it’ll cost you: Asking is $3,495,000.

• 1745 20th Street [Heidi Rossi, Pacific Union]
• Potrero Hill [Curbed SF]