Every Friday the Wall Street Journal has a separate section about high-end real estate around the world. As soon as I turned to page M2 and saw the photo I knew we were looking at the Western White House in H'borough. It has just been listed at $38.9 million. Here are some fun aspects about the house
Newspaper heir George R. Hearst never held public office. But around 1930, the oldest son of William Randolph Hearst commissioned architect Julia Morgan to convert his Hillsborough, Calif., home into a replica of the White House.
Morgan, who designed Hearst Castle in San Simeon, added columns, wings, Palladian windows and a circular driveway, according to the book “Julia Morgan, Architect.” The resulting structure contains replicas of the Oval Office, East Room and White House Rose Garden.
The house was originally built around 1878 for businessman William H. Howard, who later sold it to railroad scion Charles Frederick Crocker, according to the San Mateo County Historical Association. The original design was a four-story Swiss chalet with 36 rooms, according to the book “Here Today: San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage.” In the 1900s, a local contractor jacked up the house and moved it with horse-drawn rollers about a half mile across San Mateo Creek to its current location, the book said.
My local historical sources, which are quite good, tell me that the horse-drawn move was featured in Popular Mechanics magazine back in the day.
Shortly after its arrival, however, the chalet caught fire and two of its four stories were destroyed. Hearst acquired the property around 1927, according to the historical association.
(The current owners did extensive renovations and) said they tried not to deviate from Morgan’s vision. An oval-shaped library has the same dimensions as the Oval Office, he said. They even sourced period-specific furniture, he said, but didn’t end up buying it because they decided not to move in.
I've left out a lot of the owners' information, but if you are a prospective buyer Alex Buljan of Compass has the listing!
That is an Awesome Post.
I always wonder where the "Building Material came from. Did the workers of this building have to use Handsaws, Ax? How did they Construct such a "Finished Product."
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | June 27, 2023 at 08:24 PM
What's even more awesome, Holly, (if I'm remembering this one correctly) is that Howard stipulated that none of the trees be harmed during the move of his former home down the ravine to its new location; so I suspect it was cut up in more than a few pieces.
Posted by: Jennifer Pfaff | June 28, 2023 at 07:54 AM
(Pardon the edit--it was actually C. Templeton Crocker who made the stipulation about not harming the trees).
Posted by: Jennifer Pfaff | June 28, 2023 at 10:02 AM
The Burlingame Voice is Fun!
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | June 29, 2023 at 07:33 PM
Thanks Holly.
I like that the WSJ and the Burlingame Voice are a full week ahead of the Comicle and the Daily Journal. Check this out from today:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/western-white-house-hillsborough-for-sale-18177152.php
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/western-white-house-for-sale-in-hillsborough/article_ee307d9a-17bc-11ee-8343-db8fde91986e.html?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1688220002&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
Heard it here 2nd......
Posted by: Joe | July 01, 2023 at 11:18 PM