Hearst heir buys Calistoga home for city record of $9.5M

Home sits on almost two and a half acres at the base of Mt. St. Helena

William Randolph Hearst III and his new property (Getty, Realtor.com via Arthur Goodrich / Sotheby's International Realty)
William Randolph Hearst III and his new property (Getty, Realtor.com via Arthur Goodrich / Sotheby's International Realty)

The grandson of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his wife splashed out $9.5 million for a four-bedroom estate in the Napa Valley city of Calistoga, setting a local record.

The 6,500-square-foot Spanish Colonial Revival home sold for more than double the city’s previous record of $3.65 million, according to the San Francisco Business Times, which cited Sotheby’s International Realty. It was in June for $9.85 million.

The at 1602 Greenwood Avenue home, which sits on almost two and a half acres at the base of Mt. St. Helena, features stucco and Italian plaster walls, exposed reclaimed antique beams, arched walkways and Portuguese terracotta floors. It has outdoor courtyards across sprawling grounds and a sweeping view.

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William Randolph Hearst III and his wife, Margaret Crawford Hearst, bought the home from Kate and Jack Berquist, who moved to the Bay Area in the 1990s, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Berquists bought the land in Calistoga for $395,000 in 2000 and completed the house in 2005. The design was inspired by the Spanish hacienda style popular in California in the 1920s.

The home, which features five bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, is outfitted with custom hand-forged steel-sashed doors and windows and features vaulted ceilings. The estate also boasts a small guest house — or “casita” — on the grounds, as well as a pool and attached garage.

[SFBT] — Victoria Pruitt