Looking to live like a U.S. President? It’ll cost you $38.9M for this Bay Area White House replica
By Zach Fuentes
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HILLSBOROUGH, California (KGO) — A Bay Area house is getting worldwide attention thanks to its similarities to the White House and is now listed for $38.9 million.
The Hillsborough home is equipped with its own version of the Oval Office and other main rooms inspired by the White House. The home is four levels, 25,000 square feet and sits on three acres of land.
“It is a replica of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” said Realtor Alex Buljan. “It was designed by famed architect Julia Morgan known for doing the Hearst Castle in San Simeon.”
The house itself dates back to the 1800s.
In the 1920s, the grandson of William Hearst, George Hearst, commissioned Julia Morgan to make it look like the White House.
“The story is that he had aspirations to be a president, a presidential candidate one day,” Buljan said. “His idea was to gift it to the United States government to make it a Western White House, a residence on the western coast of the United States to complement the one on the East Coast. That never actually came to fruition and George actually never even moved in and lived here.”
Aside from what Buljan calls some “freshening up,” the home has stayed mostly the same all these years.
Chandeliers can be found around almost every corner, and intricate details can be spotted on many of the fixtures.
Each bedroom seems as though it’s the master bedroom and the master bedroom amounts to the size of many everyday homes.
The backyard is filled with a large swimming pool and has several rose bushes that are similar to the White House rose garden.
Though the home is just minutes away from the heart of Hillsborough, it can’t be seen from the road.
“A lot of people, even people that have lived in this area or lived in town grew up here. don’t even realize this house is here,” Buljan said.
With breathtaking views and a one-of-a-kind Julia Morgan design, one might ask why the current owner wants to sell.
“His plan was to live here with his wife and his two kids and then as he started doing some of the work here, came to the realization that a four-story house with almost 25,000 square feet is not super feasible for a family with two young kids.”
The home is now listed at $38.9 million and is getting widespread interest.
“We live in an area where large homes and high-priced homes kind of seem commonplace,” Buljan said. “But the amount of attention that this is getting, from here to Washington, D.C. to London, is pretty wild.”
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