From the tomes of Curbed SF comes the sordid tale of this famed mega-manse in Hillsborough, Calif, which "has a long history full of long-standing San Francisco social royalty, botched subdivision plans to cover divorce fees, and dreamy interior design, plus some high-end architectural pedigree to boot." Built in 1916 by the daughter and son-in-law of French Nobleman Count Christian de Guigne, the 16,000-square-foot Guigne Court boasts, among a whole lot of other things, seven bedrooms, a ballroom, a flower-arranging room, a servants' wing with four maids' rooms and two chauffeurs' rooms. After being passed to subsequently richer and richer descendants—including an heiress who hired famed midcentury interior decorator Anthony Hail to design the interiors of the estate in the 1960s—the home eventually popped up on the market last February for a cool $100M, with the rather ludicrous stipulation that the owner not be able to move in until the 76-year-old current owner pass on. More on the fall-out of the comically out-of-touch demand, plus a bit more on the many rabble-rousing tenants, below.
Filed under: