Castle-house melange in Alamo asks $3.4M

As we’ve opined before, we love a house that runs with a theme. The most recent example, this castle-home in Alamo. What it lacks in subtlety it more than makes for in chutzpah and unapologetic brickwork.

Christened “the castle of Alamo,” this circa-1988 bastion comes with three beds, three baths, and 4,476 square feet. Constructed from approximately 130,000 salvaged bricks, massive recycled beams and woods, and ironwork, the house is a feast for eyes weary with minimalism overload. Swooping brick patters make up most of the interiors, as do soaring ceilings, woodwork, and other geologic accents.

“Each door was also hand-carved to fit its unique location,” says listing agent Melissa Fulop. “And the home’s ‘spine and ribs’ were fashioned from ridge beams, rafters, and braces reclaimed from the former JCPenny store in downtown San Francisco.”

Also of note, light posts that once lit up the perimeter of Lake Merritt in the 1910s now line the walkway leading to the front door.

There’s a slew of other repurposed material, like original fixture retrieved from the Fremont High School gymnasium, a wood-burning fireplace with iron pothook that came from a Jack London Square bar, and cabinetry made from a dismantled barn in Napa Valley.

Did we mention the turret with crenelations? This is where the hill-top home gets its castle-like figure. It also comes with an “invisible waterfall” inside, which cascades from the second story behind a series of rocks.

The property is a lot of look for the right kind of buyer. Asking is $3,475,000.

• 176 Mountain Canyon Lane [Melissa Fulop, Compass]