{"id":17962,"date":"2026-08-29T18:31:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=17962"},"modified":"2026-08-29T18:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:31:05","slug":"in-1997-a-woman-bought-a-condemned-1888-san-diego-mansion-for-188500-after-an-8-year-restoration-it-has-30-plus-chandeliers-a-secret-bar-titanic-movie-set-columns-and-a-4-5-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=17962","title":{"rendered":"In 1997, a woman bought a condemned 1888 San Diego mansion for $188,500; after an 8-year restoration, it has 30-plus chandeliers, a secret bar, \u2018Titanic\u2019 movie-set columns and a $4.5 million asking price"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133568523,imgsize-161324,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg\" alt=\"In 1997, a woman bought a condemned 1888 San Diego mansion for $188,500; after an 8-year restoration, it has 30-plus chandeliers, a secret bar, \u2018Titanic\u2019 movie-set columns and a $4.5 million asking price\" title=\"Photo: compass.com\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 1997, artist and preservationist Karen Groebli walked into a boarded-up, condemned Victorian mansion in San Diego\u2019s Bankers Hill neighborhood and saw potential where others saw only ruin.<!-- --> As she later told Homes.com, the plaster was hanging from the walls, original gas lines dangled from the ceiling, broken windows littered the floors and the interior was filled with trash. She bought the 1888 Broderick\u2013Kenny House for $188,500 and spent the next eight years meticulously restoring it, filling the home with more than 30 chandeliers, a hidden speakeasy, and kitchen columns salvaged from the set of James Cameron\u2019s Titanic, according to reporting by Hoodline and local real estate coverage. <!-- -->Now listed for $4.5 million, the house blends historic landmark status with cinematic flair and modern luxury, standing as one of the most unusual entries in San Diego\u2019s current historic home market.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">From condemned shell to historic landmark<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>The Broderick\u2013Kenny House at 2133 2nd Ave. was built during San Diego\u2019s late-19th-century real estate boom and once housed the city\u2019s first music school. It even featured one of the city\u2019s earliest residential water-pressure elevators, which Groebli later restored and reimagined using an antique cab and scissor gates.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>By the time Groebli found it in 1997, however, the house had been declared condemned, repeatedly vandalised and stripped of nearly all its interior character. \u201cWhatever could have possibly been nice in that house had literally just been torn from the walls,\u201d Groebli told Homes.com. \u201cThe plaster was just hanging; it was all over the floor. The original gas lines in the ceiling were bent and hanging out. The windows were broken.<!-- --> It was filled with trash.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>Despite the damage, she felt an immediate connection, shaped in part by childhood visits to a modest Victorian her great-grandfather built by hand in Northern California in 1903. \u201cIt was just an immediate attraction,\u201d she said. \u201cWe needed each other.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>The house already carried formal protection: the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board designated it as San Diego Historic Landmark #136 on May 4, 1979, roughly two decades before Groebli\u2019s restoration began.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"1888 San Diego mansion\" msid=\"133568547\" imgsize=\"197150\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"Photo: compass.com\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-197150,msid-133568547\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Photo: compass.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">An eight-year labour of love<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>Groebli\u2019s first task was to undo decades of ill-advised alterations: drop ceilings with acoustic tiles, cheap partition walls, missing molding and other \u201chorrible things that people had added on over the years,\u201d she told Homes.com. Once those were removed, she worked to recreate the home\u2019s original floor plan, respecting its unusually large, bold Victorian layout.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>\u201cThis Victorian is different than others in that it has a lot of rooms, and they\u2019re on a larger scale,\u201d Groebli explained. <!-- -->\u201cA lot of Victorians are more filled with secret passages and tiny doors, but this house was bigger and bolder in its design from the beginning, so I wanted to stick with that. I wanted it to have a more eclectic feel.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>Over eight years, she lived and breathed the restoration, hand-sourcing era-specific furniture and decor with a clear plan for each room. \u201cI basically would haunt all the local salvage and antique stores,\u201d she said, as per the report. <!-- -->\u201cI had a notebook where I kept a reference of everything. If I bought a chandelier, I\u2019d note that it was going in bedroom two, and then I\u2019d know I still needed one for bedroom four.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Titanic columns and a Wyatt Earp-linked speakeasy<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>That method led to some of the home\u2019s most talked-about features. Four decorative columns in the kitchen were salvaged from the set of Titanic, where they were built as exact replicas of the ocean liner\u2019s actual first-class dining room columns. <!-- -->Groebli learned about them through her car mechanic, whose wife was an extra in the film and knew someone selling set pieces.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>\u201cThe minute I saw those four columns, I just imagined them in the kitchen, and they turned out really cool,\u201d she said. Because the columns had been underwater with the set, they required extensive restoration and \u201ctons of sanding,\u201d but they now stand as a centrepiece of the kitchen.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/>Another standout is the hidden speakeasy, tucked behind antique stained-glass French doors that once hung inside the Tivoli Bar and Grill, a Gaslamp Quarter establishment founded in 1885 and famously frequented by frontier lawman Wyatt Earp. <!-- -->Those original entry doors now lead into the home\u2019s private bar, adding a layer of Wild West history to the Victorian bones.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Modern luxury layered onto 1888 bones<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>The restored Broderick\u2013Kenny House spans 4,500 square feet with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, blending its 1888 structure with modern updates throughout. Groebli added a custom freestanding steel spiral staircase and converted the entire third floor into a primary suite with private observation decks overlooking San Diego Bay, the downtown skyline and the Coronado Bridge.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>The home includes more than 30 chandeliers, custom sconces, multiple decks and panoramic skyline views, according to local coverage. Compass agent Lindsay Dunlap, who holds the listing, told Fox 5 San Diego and KUSI News that buyers can purchase the home furnished or bundled with an adjacent three-unit building.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">A $4.5 million outlier in Bankers Hill<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/>At $4.5 million, the Broderick\u2013Kenny House sits well above typical Bankers Hill home values. <!-- -->Single-family homes in the neighborhood posted a year-to-date median sale price of $1,751,069 in early 2026, according to San Diego Association of REALTORS market statistics, making the listing a significant outlier even in a neighborhood known for its historic housing stock.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>It isn\u2019t the only high-end historic property on the block, though. A neighbouring eight-bedroom estate at 2115 2nd Avenue was listed for $6.5 million in August, pointing to a growing cluster of multimillion-dollar historic homes along the 2nd Avenue corridor.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/>Dunlap described the current San Diego market as \u201cquirky,\u201d with buyers more cautious and specific about what they want. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for someone who\u2019s looking for a collector\u2019s item \u2014 a house collector of sorts,\u201d she told Homes.com. \u201cThis isn\u2019t your average family home. It certainly could be, but I think we\u2019re looking for someone who appreciates the restoration and preservation.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/>Victorians are relatively rare in San Diego, with only about two selling in a typical year, and even fewer in urban neighborhoods like Bankers Hill. <!-- -->\u201cThat\u2019s what makes it so special,\u201d Dunlap said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"68\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">A financial perk for the next owner<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"70\"\/>The home\u2019s historic designation also comes with a practical benefit. The property benefits from California\u2019s Mills Act historic preservation program, which offers local tax reductions ranging from 20% to 70% in exchange for maintaining the home\u2019s historic architectural integrity, according to Save Our Heritage Organisation. <!-- -->The Mills Act tax contract automatically transfers to new buyers, meaning whoever closes on the Broderick\u2013Kenny House inherits the savings along with the address.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"75\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">A preservationist\u2019s next chapter<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"77\"\/>For Groebli, the sale marks the end of a nearly three-decade chapter that began with a condemned shell and a vision. She bought the house for $188,500 in 1997, invested eight years of intensive restoration, and lived in the home while continuing to refine its details. Now she is moving on to her next project, leaving behind a one-of-a-kind Victorian that blends San Diego history, Hollywood memorabilia and her own eclectic design sensibility.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"79\"\/>For the right buyer, the Broderick\u2013Kenny House offers more than square footage and views; it offers a story\u2014of decay and rebirth, of salvage and cinema, and of one woman\u2019s determination to bring a forgotten mansion back to life.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/in-1997-a-woman-bought-a-condemned-1888-san-diego-mansion-for-188500-after-an-8-year-restoration-it-has-30-plus-chandeliers-a-secret-bar-titanic-movie-set-columns-and-a-4-5-million-asking-price\/articleshow\/133568203.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1997, artist and preservationist Karen Groebli walked into a boarded-up, condemned Victorian mansion in San Diego\u2019s Bankers Hill neighborhood and saw potential where others saw only ruin. As she later told Homes.com, the plaster was hanging from the walls, original gas lines dangled from the ceiling, broken windows littered the floors and the interior [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"In 1997, artist and preservationist Karen Groebli walked into a boarded-up, condemned Victorian mansion in San Diego\u2019s Bankers Hill neighborhood and saw potential where others saw only ruin. As she later told Homes.com, the plaster was hanging from the walls, original gas lines dangled from the ceiling, broken windows littered the floors and the interior [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":7,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1888-san-diego-mansion.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}