Along the tree-lined hem of Buena Vista Park, a string of historic mansions stand tall, each with its own story to tell. In the case of 171 Buena Vista Ave. East, the story is one of television fame, as this two-unit building was once the setting of a popular American sitcom, in part because of the incredible bay views afforded by its many windows. Today, this property is for sale, asking $3.5 million.
The building is actually multi-family, consisting of two units. We only see the empty unit in the listing photos. This upper flat is a sunny three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit warmed by a wood burning stove, its top-most level converted into a primary suite featuring romantic peaked ceilings and skylights.
The home seems to offer more windows than walls — all of them looking out on a famous view. It is from these windows that audiences across the nation glimpsed San Francisco’s majestic beauty: From 1980 to 1987, exterior shots for “Too Close for Comfort,” a popular TV sitcom starring Ted Knight and Nancy Dussault playing the roles of married couple Henry and Muriel Rush, were filmed here. In a scene from the show set in the house, the Rushes wake reluctantly to a glorious SF morning, and while Henry assaults an alarm clock, the bedroom window acts as the perfect frame for a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
In the show, the building’s two-unit configuration was part of the plot, as Henry Rush was portrayed as a “conservative cartoonist living in liberal San Francisco” to quote IMDb, who had to keep his two daughters — who lived in the apartment below the one he shared with his wife — “safe” (safe from what, IMDb doesn’t specify).
In reality, the daughters would have been the ones living “too close for comfort,” since the lower unit, according to the official listing, is a one-bedroom (currently, that unit — 173 Buena Vista Ave. East — is tenant occupied, so not pictured in the listing).
The building is historic on its own, erected in 1904, a survivor of the Great Earthquake of 1906. Listing agent John DiDomenico of Compass speculated that originally, this structure was a grand single-family home. “The floor plan reflects that,” DiDomenico wrote in an email. “There is only one exterior door and the one bedroom apartment appears to be the original living room, parlour, kitchen, and rear sunroom (now a bedroom) from the original floor plan.” All total, the building offers just under 3,000 square feet.
The home joins a group of similarly stately abodes, most notably the former Hormel Mansion, once famously owned by James Hormel, a philanthropist and heir to the Hormel meat packing fortune, and the first openly gay U.S. ambassador (he was appointed to this role by President Bill Clinton in 1999, after a discriminatory battle against Hormel failed to derail his nomination in the Senate). In Hormel’s hands, 181 Buena Vista Ave. East was painted pink; in 2012, Hormel sold the mansion, and new owners renovated it, a fresh coat of white exterior paint among their changes.
Along with its illustrious neighbors, 171 Buena Vista Ave. East is also in close proximity to some of the city’s most treasured amenities: its parks. “There are three amazing parks nearby,” DiDomenico said.
“Buena Vista Park and its secret tennis court, Duboce Park with its Doggie Carnival and Parade (Dogfest), and Corona Heights Park with its hidden rock climbing wall,” are all within a short distance from this property, said DiDomenico in an email.