65 MONTCLAIR TERRACE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
65 Montclair Terrace
RUSSIAN HILL
A rare convergence of architectural legacy and unrivaled privacy, 65 Montclair Terrace occupies two combined lots at the end of a secluded Russian Hill cul-de-sac. Originally designed in 1938 by Gardner Dailey, one of San Francisco's preeminent modernist architects, the fully updated residence embodies the quiet confidence of enduring design. Clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and a striking horizontal emphasis are held in precise balance, while light-filled interiors maintain an unhurried dialogue with the topography and sky beyond.
The main level is defined by expansive, generous spaces oriented around unobstructed panoramas of the Bay Bridge, Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, and the city. On the western end, an open kitchen handcrafted in Australian lacewood opens directly to an outdoor kitchen on one side, and flows naturally into the family living and dining areas on the other. On the eastern end, formal living and dining spaces frame sweeping Bay views through walls of glass, with folding doors dissolving the boundary between indoor and outdoor living. Over 3,000 square feet of private, landscaped grounds unfold over a series of terraced gardens complete with custom Yuba River boulder sculptures by artist Jesse Schlesinger.
Throughout the home, the architecture does the work to provide an exceptional setting for refined entertaining at scale: the seamless transition between interior and exterior, the way a room opens to a terrace without announcement, the sense that inside and outside are simply two expressions of the same generous space. At every level, 65 Montclair Terrace has been conceived for a life lived with others, and lived beautifully.
The residence’s upper level is devoted to private quarters, each room positioned to command the views. The primary suite faces east toward the city skyline and Bay Bridge and features a stunning view of Coit Tower. Two additional guest bedrooms, each with en-suite baths, complete the level. A third guest bedroom on the entry level offers discreet separation from the private quarters for long-term guests. Below, two garages and dual elevators — one serving the home's three floors, one descending directly to Chestnut Street — reflect the same considered attention to craft present throughout.
This standalone masterpiece is moments from Francisco Park, Aquatic Park, and Polk Street, this is an exceptional opportunity to inhabit one of San Francisco's most significant modernist estates.
$13,000,000 ON RUSSIAN HILL - 11 YEARS IN THE MAKING
THE 2015 ACQUISITION:
Architectural pedigree outside a luxury corridor
Ryan Lenox represented the buyers at 65 Montclair Terrace in 2015. The house carried genuine significance as a 1938 Gardner Dailey design, but Russian Hill is not a luxury corridor in the way other neighborhoods are perceived, and the property offered minimal outdoor space at a level where buyers expect it. But the home’s architectural merit and the buyers first hand familiarity with the neighborhood made it worth pursuing. Accounting for the above attributes the home was acquired well below list price.
THE 2021 DECISION:
The Adjacent Parcel
We advised the clients to acquire the vacant lot next door. Instead of treating it as additional square footage, we assessed it as the correction to the property's one structural deficiency. Over 3,000 square feet resolved the outdoor question and moved the residence into a segment where comparable Russian Hill inventory effectively does not exist. That strategic decision positioned the home as a one-of-a-kind compound elevating it into a different market class that supersedes neighborhood comps.
THE 2026 SALE: $13,000,000
65 Montclair Terrace sold in May 2026 at $13,000,000 as a 2-parcel compound successfully competing head to head with the most premier San Francisco properties. The decision that made that level achievable was taken five years before the listing existed, and the judgment behind it eleven years before. Advisory work of this kind is not visible in a transaction. It is visible only across a holding period, which is the case for a relationship that persists beyond and between sales.