This rare circa 1909 estate maintains all of its architectural significance at one of Lower North Hillsborough’s most prestigious addresses. What was once a Jazz Age entertaining mecca for high society is now a balanced retreat for family and friends. The home is approached near the end of the cul-de-sac, nestled adjacent to the famed 50 Acre Strawberry Hill estate. The curb appeal is resplendent of the Beaux Arts genre, which flourished in the West Coast Gilded Age of the 1890s – 1920s. Famed architect George Howard Jr. is attributed as the original designer, adding to this allure and pedigree. As you approach the home from the street, you are at the site of 7 acres of former gardens (since subdivided into homes), and the original rear façade facing you. The original front door of the home was what now faces the pool, where horse and buggy approached to the grandest soirees overlooking the Bay. From any angle, the charisma of this design is a magnetism rarely seen.

The terraced garden approach leads to a Gallery Entry Salon stretching 38 feet across the home with a 9 ft. wide hallway, 11 ft. ceilings, and herringbone oak floors. Along the axis of this grand hall, the north and south wings are beautifully united with pool to the west and brick-trimmed gardens to the east.

The modern family will find copious destinations for media, multiple offices (including exquisite paneled library with fireplace) plus tons of flexibility for live-in au pair or in-law lodging.  Amenities include 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, plus 2-bedroom, 1-bath au pair/service apartment, plus pool house with full bath and kitchenette. Two Sun Roomsexpand the possibilities off of the living room and dining room, (south and north wings, respectively). Imagine here your perfect cocktail lounge, music room, Extra Offices, or Morning Room. A Monumental Center Staircase rises beneath 21 foot ceilings. It’s easy to envision glamorous entertaining, a special wedding, or simply, as the current owner enjoyed, raising a family within a practical 5-bedroom bedroom layout. The classic woodwork and ambiance will remind you of why you fell in love with places such as Pacific Heights, or Newport, Rhode Island. The living room stretches 32 feet across, topped by 11 ft. ceilings, and reveals priceless views above acres of private forest. In the ambassador's dining room, continental elegance continues for large events interacting with the Sun Room and terraces. When the fast pace of the family starts buzzing, a well-equipped chef’s kitchen and large Breakfast Room/Family Lounge are situated for passage to the pool and outdoors.

Ascending to the top floor, the staircase becomes a double passage to the north wing and south wing. Both the north wing and south wing are crowned by Master Suites with walk-out view decks overlooking the Bay. Three other top floor bedrooms round out the accommodations, also linked to the kitchen via a back staircase.

In the early 1900s, it was common to require full-time gardeners on site to steward the vast parcels. Discreetly down off the kitchen, this home features a lower level 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment that once housed such full-time staff, plus wine cellar and copious storage. Today’s needs will invite au pair use, or future art or music studio possibilities. The privacy of the .58 Acre grounds is interlaced with forest vistas, extensive bluestone terraces, pool, spa, and pool house. The front grounds are a destination unto themselves with hand-laid brick terraces and lawns, where parties can circulate in panoramic fashion. In the Pool House, you could set up a full gym, game room, teen lounge, or command post CEO Office. There’s even a full bath, dramatic glass-lined dining area, and kitchenette.

With all of its history and prestige, such a timeless offering has never been more relevant…full of modern possibilities, and awaiting the next vision of a treasured estate. Top Schools of North Elementary, Crocker Middle, and Burlingame High reflect this preferred Lower North location. Welcome home…

At a Glance:

• 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, plus 2-bedroom, 1-bath au pair/service apartment, plus Pool House with full bath and kitchenette. Two Sun Rooms plus exquisite Paneled Library with fireplace.
• 6,335 sq. ft. on the main floors, plus 1,060 sq. ft. au pair/service apartment, plus 580 sq. ft. lower level wine cellar/storage, plus 1,000 sq. ft. Pool House with Full bath and kitchenette (data per paid vendor Floorplan Visuals)
• Lot is approx. .58 Acre (per county record)
• Epic Bay-View Decks off of the north wing and south wing Master Suites
• 3-car garage connected to the home via breezeway
• Home built in 1909 for prominent Peninsula pioneers Harry N. Stetson and Josephine Poett, originally on 7 acres. Original design attributed to famous architect George Howard Jr. (per Hillsborough Historic Building Survey of 1990) 

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HISTORIC NOTES:

In 1909, Harry N. Stetson acquired some 7 acres to build a country estate with his new bride Josephine Poett Stetson. It was only the halcyon days of Hillsborough, but already the Forest View corridor was the most prestigious and sought-after location in the area. It was here where the Town’s Founding Fathers crafted extravagant mansions as the West Coast’s answer to the Eastern Seaboard’s famed Gilded Age. And for the Gilded Age—from Newport to Fifth Avenue to San Francisco—no architectural style was more illustrious and more favored than the Beaux Arts. Sprung from a design philosophy at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the genre celebrates neoclassical and decidedly French elegance while focused on the art of entertaining. Hillsborough’s most famous landmarks employed the Beaux Arts to stunning effect—from George Newhall’s Newmar (La Dolphine) and Crocker’s Uplands II, to the legendary Carolands Chateau itself. 2305 Forest View is another quintessential star of the genre, now available to the market for the first time since 1976.

Harry N. Stetson (1873-1946), attorney, industrialist, real estate investor, came from one of the wealthiest families in early San Francisco. His father James B. Stetson (1832-1909), attorney and President of the California Street Cable Railroad Company, was one of the most influential 19th century San Franciscans. James is also noted in history for publishing a detailed first-hand account of the 1906 Earthquake. Harry married Josephine Poett in 1908, and after honeymooning in Europe, and on the cusp of the Town of Hillsborough’s official incorporation in 1910, the new Stetsons began work on this treasured Forest View estate. Josephine (1882-1969) was no stranger to high society, descending from Hillsborough’s Founding Families of the Poetts and Howards. There was a sentiment for the newlyweds that the new home would reflect their social status and architectural taste, but also represent all of the relaxed country leisure that was attracting San Franciscans to the new Hillsborough. Very strategically, the home was placed on a Bay-View Knolltop complete with a long approach for horse and buggy. You can still see one original stone gate post down the hill on Forest View where the massive iron gates opened to the estate. The current pool location was actually the front entry court and horse turnaround, facing what was then the front door. The façade from this angle presents a majestic symmetry consistent with Beaux Arts classics. Along the rear stone retaining wall, you will still notice an iron hook of a past horse hitching station!

After the Stetson/Poetts, later owners were the prominent family of E. Geoffrey Montgomery and his wife Emily Pope Montgomery. Newspaper accounts praised the Montgomery’s Forest View home: “the estate has long been a showplace on the Peninsula, filled with family treasures and a magnificent garden.” Emily Pope Montgomery’s father was Burlingame Country Club Pioneer George Pope, whose Edgecourt estate was beyond Geri Lane, where his gates still stand as a Hillsborough landmark. Pope was President of the Burlingame Country Club from 1907-1916. E. Geoffrey’s brother was influential San Francisco businessman George Granville Montgomery who lived with his family at 640 Brewer. At the time of E. Geoffrey and Emily Montgomerys’ passing in 1971 (both passed in the same year), the grounds totaled 2.8 Acres. In 1972, next owner Ernie George began the final subdivision of the lands spinning off Edessa Court, other new homes on Forest View, and changing the address from 2300 Forest View to 2305 Forest View. Current Owner Marcia Wadell purchased from Ernie George in 1976 and later hosted Decorator Showcase events and continued to celebrate the home’s balance for entertaining and family life. Today, 2305 Forest View retains .58 Acre of beautiful gardens, pool, pool house, and 3-car garage.