I come across the craziest things in San Francisco. Sometimes it might be a people-watching mermaid at 37.808021,-122.423916&spn=0.120434,0.249939&hq=aquatic+park&hnear=San+Francisco,+California&t=m&z=13&vpsrc=0">aquatic park. Other times, it is an unexpected house. While Britton and I were on broker’s tour last week, we took notice of this rather large house on an incredibly large lot (for San Francisco). Located in District 4, I’ve probably driven by the house more times than I count but for whatever reason it grabbed my eye last week so I took a note of the address – 85 St. Elmo Way – with a note to look it up in the tax records.
When I looked it up in the tax records, I was expecting to find that it was owned by a private family, and was also expecting that it would have been owned by them for decades.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
While it has been listed for sale (and eventually withdrawn) numerous times over the past decade, the last recorded sale was in 1997. Even more interesting is the owner. The tax records list the property owner as the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, with the tax bill going to 1450 Laguna St., which is where the consulate general for China is located.
So is it the personal residence for the consulate general or other consulate staff? A secret spy house for Chinese operatives? A meditation center for the falun gong? (bad joke, my apologies).
I’m having a hard time deciding which is more  unexpected? A 5,760 square foot home (on a roughly 40,000 square foot lot) surrounded by substantially more modest homes, or the fact that said property is owned by the Chinese government? Conspiracy theorists, take it away in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you are a neighbor that can chime in with actual facts, even better!
This has nothing to do with China, but in the 1960s/1970s, this house was used, and perhaps owned, by a “Fourth Way” cultic faction for meetings. Members’ children also attended meetings here on weekends. Heads of this cult include Alex Horn (deceased) and Sharon Gans (living) who once portrayed the protagonist’s wife in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five.
More info here:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/theater/theater1.html
K – Thanks for the background and link – it sounds, well, like a very 1970’s San Francisco story! I hadn’t heard of either Sharon or Alex, thanks for the background and more details about the home. – M
Man – o – man, people with a little bit of information are truly dangerous. First, yes, #85 St. Elmo was owned by a Foundation that used the property to teach and promote the teachings of Gurdjieff during the 70s 80s. However one feels about the Gurdjieff method it is completely irresponsible to add a statement about ‘cult leaders’ like Alex Horn and his lunatic wife Sharon Gans. Even if Horn had stepped through the doors at St. Elmo (which I doubt,) he certainly was no leader there but rather, developed his own self-styled cultic following proclaiming to be the Gurdjieff Work. While these two separate entities are definitely a part of colorful San Francisco history, they really shouldn’t be mashed together for the sake of appearing informed. Tisk-tisk! It is more likely that the actual Foundation has some actual connection to the Republic of China…a much more scary prospect since China does just fine with brainwashing all on it’s own.
It’s a fine line between a cult and a club. Thanks for your comment – I’ll have to go do some more digging.
My grandparents used to own this house.
Wow! Do you live in the bay area? Any awesome memories of the house? Thanks! – matt
I don’t because it was sold by the time I was born. But I have some awesome pics of the interior. My grandfather had a large table in the foyer, I believe, that was from Hearst Castle. He bought it for $27K in 1942, I think. The home sits on nearly an acre.
That’s an incredible amount of land! and that sounds like an impressive table in the Foyer – I always love the history of homes and their people. Or people and their homes 🙂
I have a pick of the foyer where that table is, but I cannot post the pic. Is there a way I can?