Must see: Former WeWork CEO lists Bay Area home where Bill Graham lived for $27.5 million
An environmentally-friendly, 10-acre compound atop a hill in Marin County has just hit the market for $27.5 million, according to real estate firm Compass.
The property was once owned by legendary rock impresario Bill Graham.
Called the Guitar House, the 13,635 square-foot residence is nestled among trees near the Golden Gate Bridge, just 10 minutes from San Francisco. The estate has seven bedrooms, five full baths and nine half-baths.
The property allows for off-the-grid living with a personal water well, solar and geo-thermal systems, a greenhouse, herb garden and chicken coop.
The seller is Adam Neumann, former chief executive officer of WeWork, according to Compass. WeWork provides shared working spaces and was once valued at $47 billion. The company is now worth $2.9 billion, according to Business Insider.
Neumann paid $21.4 million for the estate in 2018, according to Bloomberg.
Graham’s home was razed and the new estate built in 2002, according to the San Jose Mercury News. It took five years to complete. The house features a nod to the Bay Area music promoter with a fully equipped, professional-grade music studio and home theater.
The home at 800 Corte Madera Ave., Corte Madera CA, was “re-imagined” by renowned eco-architect Sim Van der Ryn, according to the official listing.
Van der Ryn built the green home for Michael Klein, an environmentalist and board member of the Rain Forest Action Network, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
“My main interest is in architecture which relates to people and their needs and relates to the natural environment,” Van der Ryn said in a video interview. “(The client) had their first team, their best, in every area, carpentry, masonry. It was a five year process.”
Van der Ryn used an ancient technique called rammed earth in the construction.
“I also had the idea of reduce the amount of cement in construction,” he said. “That brought us to an old technology called rammed earth in which you took soils with a lot of broken, decomposed stone in them and add a small amount of cement. It’s an old, old technology that was used in various parts of the world.”
Through the home’s materials and orientation, sunlight is captured and heat is stored in the floors, columns and mass of the building.
Guitar House got its name, the architect said, because the client wanted a music room at ground level. Van der Ryn came up with the idea of building a long corridor with columns that leads to the “guitar room.”
In addition to a nearly 10,000-square-foot main house, the property features a spacious two-bedroom guest home, detached yoga studio-deluxe office, wine cellar, library, billiards room, staff quarters and a poolside cabana. The property affords breathtaking views of San Francisco.
Further, there’s a grand bedroom suite and an indoor regulation racquetball court.
On the private ground outsides, a homeowner can enjoy a park-like level lawn, pool, spa, commercial grade waterslide, basketball court—and complete privacy.
“Noted for hosting large scale events, this incredible compound offers all of today’s must-have resort amenities and spectacular views,” according to fact sheet on the estate.
Bill Graham helped launch the careers of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others into the stratosphere. He died in a helicopter crash in 1991.
Joshua Deitch of Compass is the listing agent.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 9:05 AM.
