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Owner who demolished famed San Francisco house must build replica | Owner who demolished famed San Francisco house must build replica |
(about 11 hours later) | |
A buyer who illegally demolished a famed house in San Francisco has been ordered to rebuild an exact replica - and install a plaque outside explaining what happened. | A buyer who illegally demolished a famed house in San Francisco has been ordered to rebuild an exact replica - and install a plaque outside explaining what happened. |
Largent House, in the city's Twin Peaks neighbourhood, was built in 1936 by eminent modernist designer Richard Neutra. | Largent House, in the city's Twin Peaks neighbourhood, was built in 1936 by eminent modernist designer Richard Neutra. |
Its owner, Ross Johnston, bought the property last year for $1.7m (£1.3m) and had permission to renovate it. | Its owner, Ross Johnston, bought the property last year for $1.7m (£1.3m) and had permission to renovate it. |
That did not include knocking it down. | That did not include knocking it down. |
Cheryl Traverce, a neighbour, told local TV station KPIX 5 that she filed a complaint after coming home to find the house demolished. | Cheryl Traverce, a neighbour, told local TV station KPIX 5 that she filed a complaint after coming home to find the house demolished. |
"I went to New York for about a week and a half and came back - the house was gone, totally gone," she said. | |
Mr Johnston told the San Francisco Planning Commission he had bought the property "as a family home that would enable my family of six to move back to San Francisco", and had been "stuck in limbo for over a year". His lawyer also argued that the historic house had already been altered by former owners. | |
Nonetheless, the commission ruled last week that a replica must be built - and not the larger home the owner had planned in its place. | Nonetheless, the commission ruled last week that a replica must be built - and not the larger home the owner had planned in its place. |
If the property is sold, the new buyer will also be obliged to honour the ruling. | If the property is sold, the new buyer will also be obliged to honour the ruling. |
Ms Traverce called the decision "a victory for the neighbours and the little people". | Ms Traverce called the decision "a victory for the neighbours and the little people". |
More San Francisco stories... | More San Francisco stories... |
Before it was demolished, Largent House was a two-storey white building with an indoor swimming pool - and one of just five homes Neutra designed in San Francisco. | |
SF Curbed profiled it in 2010, writing: "We know nothing about Mr./Mrs./Ms. Largent, but this was radical stuff in the middle of the Great Depression." | SF Curbed profiled it in 2010, writing: "We know nothing about Mr./Mrs./Ms. Largent, but this was radical stuff in the middle of the Great Depression." |
Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards said he hoped the story would prove a cautionary tale. | Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards said he hoped the story would prove a cautionary tale. |
"If a developer has even a thought of demolishing a house illegally, I'd like them to go up to 49 Hopkins and take a look at the plaque, because this is what's going to happen in the future," he said. | "If a developer has even a thought of demolishing a house illegally, I'd like them to go up to 49 Hopkins and take a look at the plaque, because this is what's going to happen in the future," he said. |
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