The masterpiece ($26,000,000) of noted architect David Adler, “House-On-Hill” was commissioned for Mrs. Celia Tobin Clark, heiress to the Hibernia Bank fortune. Inspired by the graceful elegance of England’s Cotswold Hills Tudors, construction commenced in 1929 and was completed in 1931. In 1992, the present owners meticulously renovated the entire property with loving attention to detail and an eye for the preservation of original design features while updating the systems infrastructure to modern-day requirements. From the opulent music room, to the lovely Otis lift, to the incredible hand-mill work throughout the residence, no detail was overlooked in the restoration. Nestled in the gentle hills overlooking San Francisco Bay, one feels, upon entering through classic wrought-iron gates, a sense of having entered another world. Driving past the Guardhouse and up the dramatic cobble into the privacy of the magnificent grounds, one sees the expansive motor court and its beautiful fountain at center. The carved front entry opens to an elegant black and white marble reception foyer with a carved balustrade staircase leading to opulent public rooms including a banquet-sized formal dining room with carved marble fireplace, over sized French Doors leading to the Loggia and Grand Terrace, a cozy Library with 17th Century English paneling and the grand Music Room. The mansion includes 12 bedrooms (4 of which are master suites), 12 full baths and 3 half baths, four kitchens, 12 fireplaces, luxurious master quarters, a handsome Bar Room, paneled Card Room, Wine Vault, Exercise Room, huge Recreation/Media Room and in-ground pool. A special VIP suite of rooms has been the guest residence of a prestigious list of U.S. Presidents and other World Leaders including, Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Ford, and Bush, as well as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and His Majesty King Hussein. The property also includes a six car garage and state-of-the-art systems, including sound, lighting, security and intercom throughout,. The Music Room is 55 feet long and is crowned by 15 foot ceilings with exquisite three dimensional decorations, features antique parquet-de-Versailles flooring, triple gold-gilt moldings, matching fireplaces, Bay Windows and French doors leading to the Grand Terrace. In the gallery, the floor, which is black and white marble, is 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. 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 Hundred 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 stately and elegant English style. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a priceless piece of history, located in the heart of the one of the most significant and beautiful locations in the world.
