Bing Crosby’s Longtime Bay Area Home Just Landed on the Market for $40 Million
Ever find yourself dreaming about owning a majestic French-style chateau nestled in the coveted Bay Area region of California? You could be in luck, because this picturesque five-plus-acre spread long owned by the late actor and crooner Bing Crosby has just popped up for sale in the affluent San Francisco suburb of Hillsborough for the first time in almost six decades, asking a cool $40 million.
The beloved entertainer and his second wife Kathryn, a former actress who passed away last year at age 90, reportedly paid $175,000 in the 1960s for the property, which is showcased by a circa-1920s home boasting 11 bedrooms and 15 baths. Almost 14,000 square feet of living space is accented throughout with antiques from the collection of newspaper publisher and Crosby friend William Randolph Hearst, including a 17th-century wood staircase banister, linen fold paneling, and custom furnishings.
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Originally designed by noted architects John Bakewell Jr. and Ernest Weihe almost a century ago for businessman Lindsay Howard, son of horse-racing enthusiast and Seabiscuit owner Charles Howard, and his wife Anita, the whitewashed brick structure was extensively renovated during Crosby’s tenure and was featured as a Decorators’ Show House in 1998. Among the standout amenities is a bar-equipped smoking room, plus an oval-shaped dining room donning a Venetian glass chandelier, walls painted in a floral motif, and French doors spilling out to the grassy grounds.
Other highlights include a formal living room sporting a particularly ornate fireplace, a grand piano that was featured in the movie High Society, and access to a covered terrace, as well as a handsome wood-paneled library with a fireplace and built-in bookcases. A kitchen outfitted with a vintage walk-in refrigerator connects to a pantry, prep space, breakfast nook, and mudroom, while an upstairs primary suite comes with dual closets and baths. There are also separate staff quarters.
RELATED: This SoCal Estate Was Once Home to Bing Crosby. Now It Can Be Yours for $13.5 Million.
The couple’s son Harry, a New York-based investment banker who lived in the home with his siblings Nathaniel and Mary Frances, said the family has decided to sell in the wake of their mother’s recent death, according to The Wall Street Journal. “It’s difficult to turn the page emotionally,” he added, “but all good things come to an end.”
The listing, which could be a record-breaking transaction for the San Mateo County area if it sells for anywhere near the $40 million asking price, is held by Jennifer Gilson of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. The priciest sale to date occurred in 2021, when a home owned by billionaire Elon Musk traded hands for $30 million.
Click here for more photos of the Hillsborough residence.
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