Incredible SF cliffside complex once home to Frida Kahlo hits market for $8M

An apartment building clinging to the side of a San Francisco cliff is looking for a buyer, and its $8 million price tag comes with panoramic bay views, a famously quirky layout and a surprising artistic pedigree.The 11-unit property at 36-52 Calhoun Terrace, tucked into Telegraph Hill, has been listed for sale for the first time in decades, through Telegraph Hill Views.While its street-facing side appears relatively understated, the rear reveals a dramatic 1938 structure built directly into a wall of exposed bedrock, a feat that would be extraordinarily difficult to recreate under modern building, seismic and workplace safety rules.“They literally don’t build things like they used to,” San Francisco Planning Chief of Staff Dan Sider told the San Francisco Standard of the “remarkable” complex, where Frida Kahlo used to live.“But also, people don’t die on construction sites nearly as often as they used to.”The apartments aren’t exactly sprawling.None exceeds 950 square feet, most have just one bedroom and the building has no parking.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story Residents in the lower units also have to tackle several flights of stairs just to reach the street.Some layouts are especially unconventional.Author Gary Kamiya, who moved into one of the apartments in 2023 after falling for its “floating in air” views, said his roughly 600-square-foot unit has a kitchen so narrow that he and his girlfriend can barely fit inside it together, despite the space somehow accommodating two ovens.The bathroom is only accessible through the bedroom, and one bedroom window sits at street level.Still, Kamiya said the views make the tradeoffs worthwhile.From his apartment, he watches cargo ships cross the bay, coyotes scale the rocky hills...