Jimi Hendrix Red House in San Francisco nears foreclosure

The words “this key won’t unlock this door” may prove prophetic for the owners of the Jimi Hendrix Red House. 

The home, located at 1524-1528 Haight Street in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, is in danger of foreclosure, according to a notice of default filed on Feb. 13. The owners of the home, identified in property records as Rasmi and Bahjeh Zeidan, allegedly fell behind on $1.9 million in debt. Cathay Bank provided the $2 million loan on the asset in July 2018. 

The property, which used to have two Hendrix murals and a banner that read “Jimi Hendrix Red House” out front, is a local tourist attraction. According to the nonprofit San Francisco Travel Association, Hendrix lived in the home for “a few years in the 1960s.” Rumors have also persisted that the property was the inspiration for the song “Red House.” 

In 2020, the two Hendrix murals on the home were removed as part of a renovation, according to Hoodline. 

While the site remains a destination for tour groups, several biographers and historians insist there is no evidence that Hendrix ever lived at the address. 

“I can tell you unequivocally that is in complete error,” Charles Cross, the author of a Hendrix biography “Room Full of Mirrors,” told local outlet SFGate last year. 

“The song is absolutely not about that individual house in San Francisco,” added Brad Schreiber, the author of the biography “Becoming Jimi Hendrix.”

With the alleged default, the Jimi Hendrix Red House joins an expanding list of distressed residential properties in the Bay Area. In February, apartment landlord Veritas lost 95 apartment buildings in San Francisco after defaulting on $1 billion in loans. Earlier this month, Group I also allegedly defaulted on a $26 million loan tied to 988 Market Street, the city’s first office-to-home conversion. 

The phrase “this key won’t unlock this door” figures in the lyrics of Hendrix’s song “Red House,” released in 19967.