The historic Green Gables Estate in Silicon Valley dates back to 1911 with multiple homes and is still owned by the Fleishhacker family, one of the busiest and wealthiest families in California. This estate is now on the market priced at $135 million.
The estate has 74 acres of land with multiple structures and buildings within the property like the Reservoir, Tea & Dairy House, Craftsman’s Barn & House, Estate Manager’s Cottage, Edible & Flower Garden, Olive Grove Home, Camperdown Elm Alee, Wurster House, and the Main House. The property also boasts of a football-sized Roman Pool, a Free-form Swimming pool, and a tennis court. The houses, interiors, and landscaping of the property were designed by renowned architects and designers of their time.
The Green Gables Estate, one of the most beautiful and historic estates in Silicon Valley and owned by the influential Fleishhacker family is listed under Christie’s International Real Estates of San Francisco, California.
This is the formal dining room with a large oval beige dining table topped with a chandelier and surrounded by gray chairs that match the console on the side. On the far side of the room is a set of French doors that open to the large patio. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. 
This is a full view of the main house’s large patio with multiple outdoor dining areas and outdoor sofas and armchairs at the lounge area under the big tree in the middle. These are then complemented by the landscaping of creeping vines, potted plants and tall trees. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is a close look at one of the outdoor dining areas with a round table shaded by a large umbrella and a view of the large grass lawn of the backyard with tall trees and a view of the pond and Roman pool in the distance on the far side of the landscape. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is a view of the football-sized Roman Pool with walkways on both sides lined with well-manicured shrubs and grass lawns leading to a large structure at the far end that has tall pillars and arches. These are then complemented by the surrounding thick forest of trees. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is a close look at the Roman Pool showcasing the serene waters, the tall textured stone blocks, and pillars and the arches they form to complement the surrounding landscape and the pool. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is a close look at the edible and flower garden of the property that has multiple planters of colorful blooming flowers and herbs traversed with graveled walkways in between leading to the other parts of the garden. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is a close look at the tea and dairy house within the property. It has textured and rustic mosaic stone exterior walls with arches and clay tile roofs that pair well with the surrounding rustic landscape. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. This is an aerial view of the fishing pond and the Roman pool on the far side. These are then complemented by the concrete walkways, well-manicured grass lawns and shrubs on pots along with tall trees. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com. 
This is an aerial view of the main house and the massive backyard that has multiple grass lawns, walkways, a fishing pond, and a football-sized Roman pool on the far side. These are then surrounded by tall and thick trees. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
All photos are used with permission from TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
One of California’s largest and most interesting estates, historic Green Gables in Silicon Valley, was the summer residence of the entrepreneurial Fleishhacker family of San Francisco. After the 1906 earthquake and a family trip to England, the family began buying land to build a compound that would emulate the thatched-roof homes they had seen on their vacation. At 74 acres, and still in the Fleishhacker family, the property with its multiple homes and supporting buildings has come to market for the first time – 110 years after it was built. It is priced at $135 million.
Money was no problem for one of the busiest and wealthiest families in California when it came to creating a big and comfortable summer estate. Mortimer Fleishhacker, Sr. owned a paper company, an electric company, and was one of the country’s leading bankers. Documents show that the estate grew through close collaboration between Mortimer and architect/landscape architect Charles Sumner Greene of the famous architectural firm of Greene and Greene, with Mrs. Fleishhacker as the correspondent between the two on the details of the build.
The goal for the design was that it appear natural to its landscape. It was a property of California firsts: first to have exterior walls of gunite, first to have a free-form swimming pool and the first to have a shingle roof that replicated the thatched roofs of England. The property grew over the years to include seven homes, extensive gardens, woodlands, and a Roman-style pool that is the size of a football field. The last home to be built on the property was completed in 1970, showing how the structures have expanded across the landscape since the main house was constructed.
In addition to views to the Santa Cruz Mountains, a park-like vista of oak trees and native grasses, and the interior styling of designer Elsie de Wolfe, one of the most outstanding features in the main house is the hand-carved furniture by the Greene brothers. Similar to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene brothers were well known for their design-and-artistic talent from architecture to landscape to furniture design and intricate wood carving as seen in the home’s game-room chairs. Highly detail oriented, the brothers focused on every detail of construction and the materials used and felt that even more utilitarian elements such as switch plates and walkways should achieve elegance.
According to the listing, Green Gables has hosted dignitaries from European royalty, U.S. senators, congressional representatives, governors, and business leaders. In 1965, the United Nations selected Green Gables as the site for its 20th-anniversary commemoration gala. Today, especially with its proximity to Silicon Valley, the estate would make an excellent corporate retreat and meeting center or continue as a large family compound. Historians and architectural students will appreciate the extensive documentation on the estate located in the Documents Collection of the College of Environmental Design, University of California Berkeley.
The historic Green Gables estate is listed by Christie’s, San Francisco for the first time since it was built in 1922, still inhabited by the descendants of the original owners.
Photo credit: Christie’s
