VC Mogul to List 106-Year-Old Mansion in SF for $36M

A century-old mansion designed by Julia Morgan on San Francisco’s Presidio will soon hit the market for $36 million.

The Tudor-style house will be listed at 3630 Jackson Street in Presidio Heights, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sellers are venture capitalist Karl Peterson, co-founder of Hotwire.com, and his wife, Holly Peterson.

They bought the 11,300-square-foot home in 2007 for $16.65 million, then sank $10 million more in renovations.

The original house was completed in 1917 for Abraham Rosenberg, whose family made a fortune packing and shipping dried fruit from California, according to the 2007 book “Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty,” cited by the Journal.

The eight-bedroom house sits on a quarter-acre between Jackson and Pacific streets, overlooking the Presidio Wall Playground, said listing agent Steven Mavromihalis of Compass. It reportedly once served as the Nepalese Consulate.

The stucco-and-wood home is behind a tall wall and a row of trees, with the main entrance on the side of the house rather than the front. From the top floors, there are views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Petersons said they spent $10 million renovating the house, although they kept much of the home’s original floor plan, ceiling moldings and fireplaces.

Joel Baumgardner, project architect for the 2001 renovation, said the Morgan-designed mansion was taken down to the studs, with all wall finishes, paneling, cabinetry, flooring, windows and heating and AC systems replaced, according to his website.

In the renovation, the Petersons said, they tried to balance the sophistication of Morgan’s design with a “fun and comfortable” aesthetic.

The home has custom millwork and bold colors. The kitchen has a blue La Cornue range and matching blue cabinets and leather stools. The master bedroom has a balcony and two large walk-in closets.

A one-time gym is now set up as a karaoke room with disco balls and a wet bar, which opens onto an outdoor pickleball court.

Holly Peterson told the Journal they are selling because their teenage children go to boarding school and because they’re renovating another property in San Francisco. They also have homes in Aspen and South Bend, Ind.

The city’s home sales record was set in 2021, when a mansion in Pacific Heights sold for $43.5 million. In March, a house a few blocks from the Peterson home sold for $34.5 million.

— Dana Bartholomew