If you're in the market for an over-the-top estate with high society pedigree, the Vallejo Street address once home to Billy and Vanessa Getty checks off all the right adjectives: polished, palatial, and unattainable—at least for you, you silly plebeian.
Built in 1912 by the Bay Area architect Louis M. Upton—a favorite among Pac Heights mansion dwellers back in the day—the Italian Renaissance–style estate is pretty much the ultimate in lavish living: Not only can you sleep where Vanessa slept and bathe where Vanessa bathed, you can luxuriate in knowing that your abode also has much sought-after flourishes by the luxury design firm, Chartwell—and, apparently, in the knowledge that you could afford to overpay.
The 9,700-square-foot house is for sale off market with an asking price of $30 million—Billy and Nessy only fetched $12.5 million for it back in the summer of 2015. (And that's just a measly mil more than the couple paid for it in 2002, three years after they wed.)
But in 2015, developer Enrique Landa began renovations, leaving no interior corner untouched, though the original architecture—including carved pilasters, stone balustrades, and alfresco balconies with views of the Golden Gate Bridge—remain. First, the old castle got a seismic retrofit so that all five levels (yes, all five levels) would be connected by steel to the bedrock. Then the more than century-old floor plan was reimagined, elliptical stairs were added, and a staggering retractable glass awning was installed over the sky lounge (because of course there is a sky lounge). In the kitchen, a full calacatta ora slab was used for the updated island, custom mill work cabinets by Phoenix were installed, as well as custom lighting and a Wolf appliance suit.
In a house like this, you'd expect a grand foyer and even the snobbiest among you will not be disappointed. The dramatic entry here leads to a gallery hall and a balcony overlooking the surrounding neighborhoods.
Because you are a wannabe Getty, you are sure to host the most lavish of parties and you'll need a nice backdrop for your soirees. Will the Golden Gate Bridge do? We hope so, because there's a panorama of it through the bay windows in the spacious dining room. Before dinner, you'll likely invite your guests to join you through the French doors for glasses of Krug on the terrace. (The kitchen, from we can tell, is kind of whatever. But since you'll be eating dinner most nights at Gary Danko and can afford to hire help to prepare those home-cooked meals, you'll never go in there anyway.)
The lords and ladies of the house must, of course, seek refuge from the madding crowd of the entertainer's first floor, and so the master suite is located in the northern wing of the second floor, which also has vistas of the bridge and bay. Swathed in natural light, the airy living quarters have a fireplace, hers-and-hers walk-in closets (c'mon, you know Nessy got both closets), and a pair of white marble bathrooms lit with alabaster chandeliers. The second story also has its own cozy living room with a wood-burning fireplace and massive picture windows (again with the views).
Two bedrooms with en suite baths take up the third floor, where you'll also find a sprawling family room where, warmed by the fireplace, you can tuck in to watch something interesting on Fx. There are also guest quarters with their own living room, dining area, and kitchenette, as well as a fitness room and wine cellar.
A house like this scoffs at street parking, so t here are two garages to hold a total of four cars. And the four upper levels are accessible by elevator, as well as by an opulent spiral staircase.
But the piece de resistance is the pent room. (Don't bother to look up the word—it's a fancy San Francisco thing.) With windows wrapping around two walls and a magical retractable skylight, this space provides the ultimate in indoor/outdoor living. Just roll back the roof like a drop-top and soak in the sun from the sofa. When it gets chilly, snuggle up by the fireplace across the room.
Location: 2900 Vallejo St. (Pacific Heights)
Size: 9,700 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 8.5
Asking price: $30,000,000
// For more information, contact Ludovico Mazzola, ludovico@mazzolaproperties.com, 415.652.7483; or Michelangelo Mazzola: michelangelo@mazzolaproperties.com, 408.373.6320; mazzolaproperties.com.
