San Francisco apartment building where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera reunited hits the market for $8 million | Today’s news
The San Francisco apartment building where famed Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo reunited before remarrying has been valued at $8 million, according to The San Francisco Standard.
The 11-unit Art Moderne apartment building at 36-52 Calhoun Terrace in Telegraph Hill is considered an architectural landmark as well as a site of cultural significance.
Completed in 1938, the building is noted for its unusual design, cascading down the steep cliff face of Telegraph Hill rather than rising from it. Its dramatic cliff-top construction, combined with its location on a narrow cul-de-sac, made it one of the most distinctive residential buildings in the city.
Officials say such a project would be nearly impossible to replicate under today’s building and safety codes.
“They literally don’t build things like they used to,” the San Francisco Planning Department chief of staff told The San Francisco Standard, describing the building as a product of a different era in the city’s development.
The structure owes its unique design to Telegraph Hill’s history as a former quarry, which left behind a steep rock face on which the flats were built.
Each suite is approximately 950 square feet and offers panoramic views of San Francisco Bay, the waterfront and Treasure Island through expansive windows. Many units retain original features from the 1930s, including wooden floors, fireplaces and colorful tiles.
In addition to its architectural appeal, the building is closely associated with the lives of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
Rivera moved into apartment 42 in 1940 while working on the Pan American Unity mural for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. By this time, Rivera and Kahlo had divorced. During his stay, Kahlo joined him in San Francisco and the couple reconciled before remarrying in December 1940 at San Francisco City Hall.
The property also appeared on screen and served as a location for the 1952 film noir The Sniper.
The $8 million asking price reflects not only the property’s value, but also its architectural, artistic and historical significance, preserving a unique chapter of San Francisco’s cultural heritage.
