255 Magellan Avenue
Designed by Edward E. Young and built upon a double Forrest Hill lot in 1933, much of the then Tudor home at 255 Magellan was remodeled in the early 90’s and the interior now features a limestone and marble atrium that’s rather “awe inspiring” indeed.
255%20Magellan%20Fountain%20Room.jpg
And there’s now a master bath that’s feeling as Arabian or Italian as it is “Art Deco.”
255%20Magellan%20Master%20Bath.jpg
∙ Listing: 255 Magellan Ave (5/5.5) – $3,295,000 [255magellanave.com]

21 thoughts on “Remodeling Shock And Awe”
  1. This one is inspiring something other than awe in me. I’m regretting having the Indian Buffet for lunch now.

  2. It actually is pretty vulgar, and if those brick walls are load bearing at all, I hope they have done a thorough seismic upgrade.

  3. I like it actually. The furnishings are ornate and with the house’s ornamentation, the whole thing seems over the top. But I think with some nice streamlined interior decorating and a few changes here and there (replace that fountain with a nice zen rock or something), it could be vastly improved. I think the bones are good. But the exterior, hmm, ugh.

  4. not my cup of tea either.
    italian ornate? or bruta?
    yet this will be the right house for someone and i wish the listing agent well.
    good luck.

  5. Have to second futurist’s comment here. Unreinforced masonry buildings are death traps. The low resolution of the pictures makes it difficult to tell whether any earthquake bolts have been added, but at the very least, that enormous chimney certainly looks to be unsecured and therefore liable to plummet right through the roof in a big quake.
    IMHO, even bolted masonry is still kind of scary, since there are no real standards for seismic reinforcements. If you end up with shoddy seismic retrofit and your house collapses, you’d better be in a wood frame structure or you’re for sure gonna get smushed. Brick houses are better left an East Coast thing

  6. That is one heck of a crack in the brickwork on the far right side of the first photo.
    Great spot on Magellen, maybe the best street in a beautiful and under-appreciated neighborhood near Muni and the West Portal area.

  7. Horrible, and made worse by the destruction a fine period interior in a Tudor Revival house.
    To paraphrase Barnum on intelligence, no one ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the average American.
    I do not think Forest Hill is under-appreciated. It has always been known as a fine residential neighborhood in the County of San Francisco. Except for nearby St Francis Wood, it is the most famous suburban part of the County.

  8. @ gah – is that a crack or an attempt at quoins? Hard to tell on the photos, there is a similar detail immediately to the left of the glass monstrosity in the top photo, the angle of the sun gives shadows that makes them visible, not so on the opposite corners. It looks like it may have originally been intended for stone quoins and was built with a random brick layout. If it is a crack that large… run!

  9. Is it possible to feel sorry for a house? If you look at the living room, with the vaulted ceiling and the stone fireplace, you get a sense of the original construction. Then the owners – with questionable taste – ruined the place with the round/moon entry. What was once a classic, gracious home is now showy and vulgar.
    Pity.

  10. actually, the remodel was mostly restoration — plus a new kitchen, etc. all of the ornateness (?) you see is original. it’s the tudor exterior that doesn’t make sense. the interior wishes the exterior looked like that place on sanchez.

  11. Prime San Francisco location, Upper Caste rust belt exterior styling, Persian Perversions under the covers. This is Bay Area essence given form.

  12. You are right monkey bizz, that is way too regular to be a crack. Phew.
    Still have to wonder if this is reinforced masonry or not.

  13. Went and saw it today. Apparently, per the agent, the owners’ retirement plan involves building their new house over your backyard leaving you with much less lot than you see in the photos/showing and all of your light shaded (if there is any in Forest Hill to begin with). So, your view outside your window will be of the owners’ new house. Nice strategy to enjoy a beautiful large garden for 30 years only to sell it off to some sucker to fund your future retirement. Good Luck.

  14. Interesting. So even if you remodel this place you cannot escape the bad taste, it will be just over your back yard fence.
    Maybe you can save some money by selling some of the built-ins and fixtures back to the owner? They wouldn’t need to haul the stuff far.

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