Replica of White House for Sale in Hillsborough at $39M

The Secret Service won’t handle security, but otherwise a buyer could convincingly play the role of president of the United States at 401 El Cerrito Avenue in Hillsborough, a 3-acre site that features a replica of the White House. It’s listed for sale at $39 million, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Nicknamed the Western White House, the property was designed by Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle in San Simeon. George Hearst, son of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, built the Hillsborough home in 1930.

As a copy of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the main house offers exact replicas of the Oval Office and East Room, which is often used for award ceremonies and press conferences.

This house also housed George Hearst’s political ambitions. The newspaper scion harbored dreams of becoming president, according to listing agent Alex Buljan, who is affiliated with Compass.

“He had aspirations to be president and this was his way to get his foot in the door,” Buljan told the San Francisco Chronicle. ““His idea was to gift it to the government as a ‘Western White House’ and also a way of getting his name out there.”

George Hearst never lived at the property. There also is no evidence that it was formally offered to the federal government. Past owners include the developer of Foster City. John Lennon and Yoko Ono reportedly considered acquiring the home in 1972 when the U.S. government made efforts to deport the radical celebrity couple.

Shailesh Mehta, former chairman of Providian Financial, was one of the most recent owners of the Western White House. He listed the home for $31 million in 2021. The moniker Western White House also was more prominently used to describe Richard Nixon’s home in San Clemente, which was listed for sale for $65 million in 2021.

– Andrew Asch