Harry’s House of Secrets

‘Harry Potter’ director Chris Columbus sells up in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights

Harry Potter director Chris Columbus is selling his £8,128,000 ($12,995,000) Italianate style San Francisco home.

Situated on a 127-foot by 103-foot plot, 2622 Jackson Street was built to the designs of the architect Willis Polk – who went on to design the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts – in 1895 for an industrialist named George W. Gibbs. It was constructed in Oregon gray sandstone with a roof of glazed tiles and features a semi-circular portico “based on the round the round temples of ancient Rome”.

Originally intended as a “country home” for Gibbs, a large terraced garden was planned to surround the house. By the time of its completion, however, the surrounding area was already engulfed into the city due to the area’s building boom. The building subsequently became the headquarters of the San Francisco Institute of Music and Arts in 1947.

2622 Jackson Street was subject to a full renovation by Ryan Construction, including a complete seismic retrofit, in 1994 and now provides 11,450 square foot of accommodation. As well as 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and 4 reception rooms, there is, naturally given the building’s owner, a media room and a large loft room designed as an additional entertaining space.

Situated across the street from Alta Plaza Park, this Pacific Heights residence enjoys “panoramic views” of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top floor and a “lovely walk-out garden” according to agent Neal Ward. The property, described as “San Francisco’s first classical residence” by the San Francisco Examiner and as having “unpretentious solidity” according to Wave, is undoubtedly one of the city’s finest buildings and has plainly been a happy home for the Columbus family.

Pennsylvania born Columbus, whose credits number Mrs Doubtfire, Gremlins, The Goonies and Home Alone, directed the first two Harry Potter films and produced the third out of the series of eight. In an interview in April this year, the director told The Telegraph’s Anna Tyzack that he and his family have enjoyed a “pretty normal existence” living at 2622 Jackson Street but given his first novel, House of Secrets, is based on “three siblings who are forced to move to a mysterious new house in San Francisco [that] once belonged to a crazed writer whose stories have come to life”, one has to wonder what the next chapter for this fine classical mansion will be.

Update October 2014: The house sold for a price of £8,265,000 ($13,300,000).

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