Before San Francisco’s high-rise buildings and dense neighborhoods, the city was home to elegant candy-colored Victorians that sat on much larger lot sizes, serving as the dwellings of the area’s wealthiest and most successful residents.
Centuries later, just a handful of those homes remain—not surrounded by lush land but by much newer dwellings that have tried to mirror the classic style that the California city is so well known for.
But as they say, nothing beats the original, a point that is proven in true style by a newly listed Grand Italianate Victorian that has just come to the market in San Francisco’s Bayview community for the first time in nearly five decades, having been owned by just four families in its 161-year history.
The property—which is known as the Sylvester House in honor of its original owners—was built in 1865 and it has since become something of an icon on the city’s skyline, thanks in large part to its pale blue facade and matching bright-blue door.
On the market for $3.5 million, the home itself still bears many of its original hallmarks, remaining true to its origins even as the area surrounding it has undergone a very drastic transformation.
“It was initially a cattle ranch surrounding the mansion,” says Mary Lou Castellanos of Sotheby’s International Realty – San Francisco Brokerage, who is handling the listing.
Spanning 6,000 square feet, the home has five bedrooms, three baths, and an attached in-law suite.
Daniel Sylvester, the first owner of the Sylvester Home, was a butcher and, in fact, the Bayview neighborhood used to be called Butchertown. The current owners, who are seeking a new steward, snapped this up 45 years ago.
“[Sylvester] was a German man who bought the house with his wife, who was from New Orleans. It’s very Southern,” says Castellanos, pointing to the porch design as a rare feature on a San Francisco home. “They’d sit outside on the porch. They had eight children.”
In 1913, the Sylvesters sold the home to a boat builder from Genoa, Italy, for just $100. He lived there with his four sons until 1966, when the third owner took occupancy.
By the time the sellers bought the home in 1980, however, it had fallen into a state of total disrepair—although that didn’t stop them from seeing the potential in the dwelling’s beautiful bones. After taking on ownership, they carried out a jaw-dropping restoration of the property, taking it back to its original glory, with many modern amenities added for good measure.
“It was dilapidated. It’s now beautifully restored,” says Castellanos. “It’s totally livable, in move-in condition.”
This includes a new roof, seismic upgrades, and modern electrical and plumbing systems. That said, for a buyer who wants to update the interior, there are still opportunities to do that.
But as a San Francisco Designated Landmark, the home’s iconic facade is permanently protected.
Among the historical features that remain are 14-foot-tall ceilings, rosettes, and six original marble fireplaces relined for wood burning. Bradbury & Bradbury custom wallpapers created exclusively for the home as well as hand stenciling by Larry Boyce are two other major aesthetic details.
The stove—an 1870s Crawford cast-iron beauty—amazingly still works. There’s also a 1915 original art nouveau mural created by Silvio Faggione.
In addition to being a part of San Francisco’s history, by surviving the 1906 earthquake, this home has hosted famous politicians such as Dianne Feinstein, Ed Lee, and Gavin Newsom, along with scholars like Henry Louis Gates and Anna Deavere Smith.
“They’re very involved in the community and on boards,” Castellanos says about the sellers. The house has also been rented as a film location and hosted the “Baroque in the Bayview” chamber concert series.
Home shoppers are drawn to Bayview for its affordability—including this house.
“This is basically a mansion at over 6,000 square feet,” says Castellanos. “For this, on the other side of town, it could absolutely be $10 million. [The buyer] could be somebody who lives in this neighborhood and wants to step up, or someone looking for a mansion in another area of the city where it would cost more.”