Tobin Clark Estate: Historic Tobin Clark Estate Host to Presidents and World Leaders

For more than sixty years, the Tobin Clark Estate,  Hillsborough Mansion with the unassuming name “House-on-Hill” has been cited as one of the most spectacular private residences ever created in the San Francisco Bay Area in its fine antique English style.  And, it has been the host to every U.S. president since Richard Nixon.  Some of the world leaders that have stayed at the Tobin Clark Estate since 1990 are, Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, as well as King Hussein and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

In the 1920s, Mrs. Celia Tobin Clark, an heiress to the Hibernia Bank fortune, commissioned architect David Adler to create a Cotswold Tudor Mansion on a secluded hilltop of some 400 acres just south of San Francisco. Full-grown trees were transplanted from as far away as the Monterey 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.

Upon completion in 1931, the home was filled with interior decor by Syrie Maugham (wife of Somerset), paintings by Van Dyke and Sir Joshua Reynolds, Queen Anne paneling, eighteenth century Chinese wall coverings, a rare Dubois writing table and over two hundred other items sent from England and the Continent.  With a prized view overlooking San Francisco’s Lower Bay and the rolling landscape far to the west, ‘House-on-Hill’ now rests on a more manageable six acres, without the original Adler-designed sixteen-stall stables, ten-car garage and “laundry group”.  Little else, though, has been sacrificed, and the house remains quietly tucked away behind the espaliered magnolias and majestic pines of a cherished Hillsborough setting.

In the gallery, the floor 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 the library, featured in Helen Comstock’s one 100 Most Beautiful Rooms in America.

The Tobin Clark Estate is now available for sale offered at $29 million.  For a private tour of the estate CONTACT US today – only fully qualified Buyers.  Until next time…Jim Walberg

Related posts:

1. The Tobin Clark Estate: David Adler – Architect’s Crown Jewel of San Francisco Estates
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, International Real Estate, Luxury Real estate, News, Real Estate, Sellers

Tagged: 100 Most Beautiful Homes In America, Celia Tobin Clark, David Adler, east bay real estate, Helen Comstock, hiberinia bank, Historic Hillsborough Estate, House-On-Hill, Jim Walberg, Syrie Maugham, the bay area team, Tobin Clark Estate