Last May, a five-bedroom home sold at 141 Pepper Avenue, in Burlingame’s prime “Burlingame Park” neighborhood. The sale was significant not because, at $4,010,000, it was one of Burlingame’s most elite sales ever recorded, but because the 6,000+/- sq. ft. grand dame (once known as 141 Pepper Hills Road) dates to the halcyon days of the Burlingame Country Club and the founding of Hillsborough. The San Mateo County assessor’s office lists 1887 as the year of construction. Along with the circa-1897 Newhall Manor at 1615 Floribunda, which sold for $5,200,000 in June 2012, and circa-1889 50 Kammerer Court, which has had the same owner since 1993, Pepper is part of a group of weekend country homes, often referred to as “The Cottages.” These rare jewels were designed pre-1900 by famous San Francisco architect A. Page Brown. Landowner Francis Newlands (administrator of the vast Sharon Estate) used these new “model” homes as symbols of the affluent country comfort, developing the former Sharon Estate lands while rallying the right prospective members around the new Burlingame Country Club. George Newhall purchased one of the first cottages at 1615 Floribunda in 1897, christening it "Newhall Manor." With architect Lewis Hobart at the helm, Newhall later went on to build the spectacular Beaux Arts estate “Newmar” in 1913 at 1761 Manor Drive, later known as La Dolphine (pictured above). The home is still majestically preserved and was opened for the 2010 Hillsborough Historic Homes Tour. Just prior to its recent sale, 1615 Floribunda was also featured on this 2010 Historic Homes Tour, which was held in commemoration of Hillsborough's centennial. The Floribunda mansion was also once owned and remodeled by Reagan-era Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.
San Mateo County experienced its greatest period of growth after World War II, but Hillsborough/Burlingame/San Mateo are prescient Peninsula anomalies. Each town incorporated right around the beginning of the 20th century, and were already well established by World War I. If your taste runs to historic homes, the Hillsborough/Burlingame/San Mateo corridor is unrivaled on the Peninsula for its hidden gems.
While some older homes are sold in turnkey condition, many come with a laundry list of needed repairs and upgrades, often with a few twists and hurdles included. The A.P. Giannini House, at 20 El Cerrito Avenue in San Mateo, is example #1 of this. Giannini, the founder of the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America), built his 7,250 square-foot Tudor-style home in 1901 and lived in it until his passing in 1949. “Seven Oaks” is a Registered Historic Place, which means its appearance cannot be significantly altered. It last sold in January, 2005 for $1.81 million. Work on the mansion is ongoing.
Seven Oaks’ next-door neighbor, 30 El Cerrito, is not a protected landmark. The boyhood home of former New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, 30 El Cerrito, was sold at the botton of the market in September 2009 for $1,760,000 for an approx. 4,480 sq. ft home. In the Keller family since the 1940s, 30 El Cerrito needs a comprehensive remodel. As yet, though, its new owners have not made significant changes.
Despite the challenges inherent in older homes, interest in them runs high, perhaps because of their timeless style but maybe also because every old house comes with a story. 45 South Delaware Street was built sometime between 1863 and 1866 by an Irish expat named William Sands on land once owned by Charles Polhemus, a founder of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. The small farmhouse stayed in the Sands family for 100 years then was sold to a man named Frank Jaros, who held onto it for another 40. Jaros spent his ownership doing restoration projects and displaying his various finds – a Seated Liberty 50 cent coin found embedded in a porch support pillar, a hoof trimmer from William Sands’ livery business – around the house. In November, 2012, when Jaros sold the Sands House for $600,000, it was only the second time in 150 years that the property had sold on the open market.
One of historic Hillsborough’s crown jewels, the Tobin Clark Estate, is presently for sale at $23,888,000, having entertained Presidents and dignitaries for decades. There are eight other more apporachable homes for sale in Hillsborough that were built before 1937, including three listed for less than $3 million. In addition, the town always has a significant number of mid-century homes for sale. Burlingame perpetually has a healthy inventory of period-style homes for sale, many at the entry level of its market. San Mateo typically associates its older homes with San Mateo Park, Hayward Park, or the “Eastern Addition/Downtown” areas. Right now there are two properties for sale, 195 North Poplar and 21 10th Avenue, that were built prior to World War I.
Like the most esteemed pioneering towns of the East Coast, the Peninsula celebrates the West Coast's heritage of affluence with its architecture. Each home has a story. For those of us lucky enough to acquire such a home, many rewarding chapters are yet to be written.