September 2010

Historically, the San Francisco Peninsula emerged as a destination to “get away” from the chaos of city life. Over 100 years ago, before being formally named, places like Hillsborough, Woodside and even Belmont were already popular hamlets for wealthy San Franciscans’ “country homes.” Many of these estates were nothing less than spectacular, owned by pioneering Bay Area titans with names like Ralston and Crocker. Some of the original mansions remain – Harriet Pullman Carolan’s “Carolands” in Hillsborough, and William Ralston’s own “Ralston ...

This summer, Hillsborough celebrated its centennial with a month of events that ended with a parade and family festival. One highlight of the parade was when the descendants of town pioneer Jenny Crocker drove their family’s 1909 Pierce-Arrow the entire length of the parade route. They’d owned the car for 101 years! It reminded us that people in Hillsborough love their cars almost as much as they love their town. When you think “Hillsborough,” you think “elegance,” “grace,” “wealth.” On September 12, at the 54th Hillsborough Concours d’ ...

For decades, “modern” architecture was a specialized oddity. Hugely popular in parts of Southern California, but in the Bay Area this modern style was overshadowed by the traditional home idiom. Too unusual and dated for some tastes, contemporary design has found a new audience over the past two decades. Today, there are individuals in the Bay Area who swear by the sharp, uncluttered lines found in modern architecture and interior design. Too often, people think San Francisco is the only place to find homes with clean, modern lines. While ...