The sale of 129 24th Avenue presents a rare opportunity to acquire a private estate along the Golden Gate National Recreation Area border in West Clay Park, one of San Francisco’s most coveted neighborhood locations. Situated along Lobos Creek Valley and connecting to the Baker Beach trailhead, the immediate proximity to parkland and coastal living captures the globally desired Northern California experience.

PROPERTY DETAILS

This private estate-style property at 129 24th Avenue blends the natural beauty of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area with the idyllic neighborhood setting of West Clay Park. The residence is accessed up a long driveway bordered by a terraced garden design by the renowned landscape architect, Topher Delaney. The motor court welcomes guests and connects to the front stairs designed from repurposed San Francisco City sidewalk curbs, an inspired concept to introduce one of San Francisco’s most important historic properties, the Ansel Adams home.

Originally built in 1902 as an Arts and Crafts chalet-style home on the sand dunes of the city’s Outside Lands, the residence grew to its current day form when the grand salon annex was designed and built in 1929 under the direction of École des Beaux-Arts trained architect, Alfred Henry Jacobs. The merged homes became the residential seat of America’s most lauded landscape photographer until 1957 when he moved to the Monterey Peninsula.

The residence is entered through a quaint vestibule into a skylit foyer. The northern section of the residence comprises the original home. Classically San Francisco, the dining room is anchored by a wood burning fireplace with outlooks towards the Golden Gate Bridge. A gracious terrace is accessed from this room through French doors. This outdoor living area connects the home to the bucolic setting of West Clay Park. The kitchen is a truly uplifting experience with a comfortable seating area with built-in bookshelves on one end and an intimate, glass atrium dining area with outlooks to the garden on the other. Upstairs are three bedrooms serviced by two full baths. These rooms have tremendous natural light with outlooks over the neighborhood enclave, the Marin Headlands, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Connecting back through the foyer, one enters the home’s grand salon. With 20’ vaulted ceilings accented with architectural beams, this space is one of San Francisco’s most dramatic living rooms. Tremendous natural light floods the room that is anchored by a full height, wall of windows with garden outlooks. Accents include a grand fireplace, book casing along both sides of the room, and hardwood floors. During Adams’ ownership and the subsequent years, this room transported the spirit of the great residential salons of Europe. Throughout the years, it served as a meeting point for the city’s artistic talents filling the room with classical music and operatic song. This wing of the home has a loft-like, romantic art studio with sitting room and the primary suite with a sitting area and outlooks to the garden.

The house is completed with a two-car garage with direct access to the home and abundant storage rooms.

ANSEL ADAMS AT 129 24TH AVENUE

In a 1981 documentary film, Ansel Adams describes growing up in “the house out here on the sand dunes, nothing but sand and natural shrubbery, big open expanse to the Gate, for miles around there was just wilderness, I could run down to the beach… And this early environment really, I think, shaped my life… I trace who I am and the direction of my development to those years of growing up in our house by the dunes, propelled especially by an internal spark tenderly kept alive and glowing by my father.”

West Clay Park: A Quintessential San Francisco Neighborhood

Classic San Francisco. Community. Natural beauty. These are some of the many words that the neighborhood of West Clay Park evokes. As one of a number of residential parks that were successfully developed in San Francisco, the West Clay Park neighborhood was immediately recognized by city residents as a unique opportunity to enjoy the benefits of suburban living within the city limits. The natural beauty afforded by this location cannot be overstated. It is no wonder that Ansel Adams and his family were longtime residents of the neighborhood. With direct access to Baker Beach and the Land’s End hiking trails, scenic biking trails and golf at Lincoln Park, and surfing for the brave at heart, activity filled days await. For the more culturally inclined, the Legion of Honor museum is nearby, housing the city’s European art collections and important traveling shows. The neighborhood is filled with local stores and the business district of Clement Street has numerous restaurants. West Clay Park is an eco-system unto itself, offering the traditions and small town feel of San Francisco’s days gone by. Link to neighborhood website HERE

• Offered at $5,450,000

• Ansel Adams Home

• 4 bd. / 3.5 ba. / 2 Car Garage

• Interior Livable 3,810 +/- sq.ft.

• Private Estate-Style Setting on a 9,000 +/- sq.ft. lot

• Dramatic 20’ Vaulted Ceiling Living Room with Architectural Beams

• Outdoor Living Spaces Include Walkout View Terrace, Rear Terrace, Landscaped Front Garden

• Independent Art Studio Workspace

• Flexible Floor Plan with Multiple Family Rooms and Guest Suites

• Immediate Access to Golden Gate National Recreation Area

• Ideal Residential Park Neighborhood within the City Limits

129 24th Avenue, San Francisco