“They literally don’t build things like they used to,” as local Planning Chief of Staff Dan Sider told the San Francisco Standard of the quirky apartment complex where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera once lived, now up for grabs at $8 million. “But also, people don’t die on construction sites nearly as often as they used to.” Cascading down the cliffside of San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill, the 11-unit 36-52 Calhoun Terrace was built in 1938 in the style of a Swiss mountainside village.
The unique building overlooking the bay is being offered for sale for the first time in decades. It attracted Rivera and Kahlo, who lived in apartment 42 in 1940, while the former was working on his “Pan American Unity” mural for the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition. Their short residency in the unit marked a whirlwind moment in the couple’s relationship: They had divorced in 1939 and remarried in 1940. In fact, it was at San Francisco City Hall where the artists re-tied the knot. During this period, Kahlo received medical treatment at the local St. Luke’s Hospital, where she painted her famed “Self Portrait, Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser.”
It’s not too hard to see why artists would be drawn in by the property, which emphasizes dramatic views over large-scale comfort and convenience. Due to the staircase-like shape of the complex, which is fully tenant-occupied, the units enjoy abundant picture windows with uninhibited views of the bay, exceptional privacy, and many vintage details, including hardwood floors, fireplaces, built-ins, and colorfully tiled bathrooms (another bonus for architecture fans: It sits next door to the Sidney Kahn House, a 1939-built Richard Neutra gem).
AD PRO members enjoy exclusive benefits. Get a year of unlimited access for $25 $20 per month.
Tenants who choose the building favor those impressive features over its quirks. None of the apartments surpass 950 square feet, there is no parking, and residents of the lower units must ascend a series of staircases to reach street level. However, many of the dwellings feature expansive decks overlooking the water, and the view is hard to beat.