“This Is San Francisco” Chenery House listed for $12.5 million

Photo: 47 Chenery House

Glen Park’s Chenery House is synonymous with Bob Pritikin, the now 88-year-old ad exec who officially made Rice-a-Roni “the San Francisco treat.” Last week, the estate famed for its annual parties and constant stream of celebrity guests was put on the market for a steep $12.5 million.

Pritikin had the neo-classical behemoth constructed in 1987. At ten bedrooms and almost 10,000 square feet, he claims it is one of the largest private estates in San Francisco. A double staircase winds up to a ballroom, while the grounds are lined with classical lamp posts, murals and sculptures. There’s also a separate three-unit building, cottage and parking for up to 15 cars.

The bon vivant Pritikin turned the estate into a private museum for a time. He would invite the public to see his collection of oddities for a few hours every week — a collection that included Adolf Hitler’s globe, a sculpture made of spoons, a whiskey decanter shaped like Eleanor Roosevelt, the full skin of an anaconda and a three-foot replica of the Transamerica building made entirely out of condom boxes.

SF Gate was lucky enough to snag an invite to one of Pritikin’s end-of-summer bashes at the Chenery House, and described it as “a freaking mansion, like an ornate, statue-laden, indoor-pool-with-retractable-roof-style mansion, in this regular residential neighborhood that has apartment buildings and corner liquor stores.”

In 2004, Pritikin offered the mansion up as the residence for the City’s mayor, but to no avail. We leave you with this utterly bizarre video where Pritikin emerges from a coffin and claims he came up with the name “Googol.”