In the hills towering above San Francisco Bay to the west is the city of Piedmont, California, which was home to the Santa Barbara Ghirardelli family heirs – the famous chocolate people.
The home has an unusual twist in that it was built by the Milwain Brothers, architects for the Ghirardelli Family, in the early 1900s in the Mission Revival style which was popular at the time, but soon fell out of favor. According to historian Gail Lombardi, Ghirardelli heirs and owners Thomas and Ellen Cushing took out a building permit for the house in 1911 to restyle the facade into the more popular Colonial Revival style. While reconstruction was underway, the family moved around the corner returning to their updated home in 1912.
Now for sale, the 6,479 square-foot mansion has seven bedrooms and six baths, a third-floor apartment and a guest house above the two-car garage. Notable are original hardwood floors, coffered ceilings with built-ins and woodwork displaying artful old-world craftsmanship. Rooms are spacious and large windows throughout allow for sunshine-filled rooms and garden views from each. Palatial in its interior, formal gardens, outdoor kitchen, terraces and rose gardens carpet the grounds.
The Ghirardelli Chocolates home is priced at $4.98 million. The listing agent is Debbi DiMaggio of DiMaggio & Betta Real Estate in Piedmont, California.
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Story courtesy of toptenrealestatedeals.com.
Image Credits: Photo from TopTenRealEstateDeals.com .