A TikTok-famous Victorian townhouse in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood has come to market asking $5.995 million.
Built in 1877, the slim ivory-colored townhouse on Divisadero Street spans nearly 3,000 square feet across two stories, with six bedrooms, two prominent bay windows, a chef’s kitchen and a primary suite with its own balcony. Most importantly, the house comes with an additional 3,500-square-foot lot that’s currently used as a garden.
“It’s a secret garden in the middle of the city, which is so rare,” said David Cohen of City Real Estate, who posted the listing Saturday.
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Another unique aspect of the home is that it’s on a corner lot with the side facing south to Sacramento Street, giving it over 100 feet of sun exposure. “The house is sun-soaked,” Cohen said. “You have to wear sunglasses in some of the rooms.”
The sellers are the heirs of Anne Rightor Thornton, who lived in the home for close to 50 years, until her death in 2024. She raised their four kids there and her ex-husband, Laney Thornton, co-founded the Eileen West clothing brand in the basement.
One of the early owners was a Dr. Michael J. Fottrell, whose surname is still etched above the door. Fottrell was a physician who arrived from Dublin in the 1880s and lived at the home from at least 1905 until his death in 1929, according to local directory archives and newspaper clippings. After the 1906 earthquake, Fortrell took the opportunity to update the home with the latest modern amenities, including gas and electric lighting, indoor plumbing and an Art Deco dining room, according to information from the listing agency.
A century later, Rightor Thornton would add a new round of renovations: An elevator was installed in 2006, the kitchen was updated and modernized, and the foundation was shored up, according to Cohen. More recent renovations touched up the period detailing and millwork. “The home was in good care,” Cohen said. “We refinished the woodwork and made the Victorian elements shine a little more.”
After Rightor Thornton’s passing, an estate sale hosted at the home went viral on TikTok and shoppers crowded the block to purchase vintage furniture and antique housewares, according to San Francisco news website Hoodline. They even sold the light fixtures and seat cushions, Cohen said—which they then had to replace to stage it. “The seller was an extraordinary person and the estate sale was a testament to her,” he said.
Rightor Thornton was one of the first women to earn a JD from Stanford University and later worked as a fashion buyer, founded the Sonoma County Store and served on the board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Her children could not be reached for comment. The listing was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.