The Tobin Clark Estate: David Adler – Architect’s Crown Jewel of San Francisco Estates

The Tobin Clark Estate was considered one of architect David Adler’s finest works during the height of his stunning career.  He was designing homes during what is still called the era of “the great American house”, between 1911 to 1949.   In the 1920s, Mrs. Celia Tobin Clark, an heiress to the Hibernia Bank fortune, commissioned David Adler to create a Cotswold Tudor Mansion on a secluded hilltop of some four hundred acres just south of San Francisco.  Her husband was the owner of the Montana Mining Company. The Tudor – Costwold influence is present in the exterior, but the interior is an amazing array of styles.  And, it somehow all works.  I am sure he had a unforgettable time designing the home in the exclusive San Francisco Bay Area community of Hillsborough. At one time, the 35,000-square-foot home rested upon 400 acres.  It now is situated on the remaining secluded six acres of the original estate.

David Adler graduated from Princeton in 1904.  And, similar to our oldest son, after graduation Adler travelled extensively in Europe studying all of its varied architectural styles.  He returned to the United States in 1911 and began his illustrious architectural career.  In the late 1920’s Celia Tobin Clark contacted Adler with her dream of building a Cotswold mansion.  She was very involved in every aspect of the design and the building of her breathtaking estate.  Because of Adler’s time spent in Europe, he loved the building materials and the craftsmen of the Continent.  The description of what Adler created can only be appreciated by a firsthand tour.  It is a gift to spend a day at the estate and noticing every little detail of what has been created.

For example, as you enter the hand carved front door you are standing in the gallery with a floor that is marble, laid without mortar, point to point, to create a deep pattern of optical illusion. The walls are dowel-joined Jacobean paneling, purchased through Stair and Andrew in London. Eighteenth-Century English oak surrounds the gentleman’s cloak room, where special shallow cupboards were fashioned to hold shaving mugs. For the master sitting room, the owner and architect chose oak paneling, circa 1724, from Royal House Cononley; and the chandelier, constructed a few years later, is Waterford, purchased from a descendant of the actor Edmund Kean. Pine carving attributed to Grinling Gibbons, woodcarver to St. Paul’s Cathedral under Sir Christopher Wren, and matching eighteenth-century pine bookcases grace to library, which is featured in Helen Comstock’s 100 Most Beautiful Rooms in America.

For more than sixty years, the Hillsborough Mansion with the unassuming name “House-on-Hill” has been cited as one of the most spectacular private residences ever created, and one that is certainly without peer in its fine antique English style.  After its construction, full-grown trees were transplanted from as far away as the Monterrey Peninsula, rose terraces and formal courtyards were laid out amid the oak groves and lawns, and multiple-trunk olive trees were pruned to dip low over matching reflecting pools set in a stone terrace. Completely by hand, an architectural treasure was built – all mellowed brick, Carmel stone and half timbers on the outside, with 35,000 square feet of honey-colored woods, silver, crystal, leaded glass and four hundred year old parquetry on the inside.

It has been written that for several years prior to building the Mansion, Mrs. Clark had been collecting ideas, clippings, photographs and other inspirations for her home. And it is known that during its somewhat lengthy construction, the estate pulled many local laborers and one failing planning mill right through the Depression. In two years alone, more than one million dollars was poured into the local economy, and at least three area firms were spared from bankruptcy.   Once in a lifetime an estate of this magnitude becomes available for sale.  That opportunity has now arrived.  The Mansion is priced at $29,000,000.  For further information contact Jim Walberg. Until next time…

Related posts:

1. Tobin Clark Estate: Historic Tobin Clark Estate Host to Presidents and World Leaders
2. The Tobin Clark Estate: A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity For $29 Million
3. The Tobin Clark Estate: Interior Designer, Syrie Maugham’s Finest Work!

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Filed Under: Blog, Buyers, Featured Posts, Luxury Real estate, Memorial Moments, News, Real Estate, Sellers

Tagged: 100 Most Beautiful Homes In America, Celia Tobin Clark, David Adler, east bay real estate, Edmund Kean, Helen Comstock, Hibernia Bank, House-On-Hill, Jim Walberg, montana mining company, princeton university, Royal House Cononley, Sir Christopher Wren, St. Paul's Cathedral, Stair and Andrew, the bay area team, Tobin Clark Estate, Waterford