The Bay Area’s famous fairytale cottage, which offers ocean views from every window, is hitting the market for $5.2 million

A Bay Area “fairytale cottage” that offers ocean views from every window and spans nearly 2,500 square feet is on the market for a cool $2.5 million.

The house was the brainchild of architect Jack Heidelberg and was built in 1950.

Heidelberg designed three houses along Beach Road on Belvedere Island, with this house at number 242 being the most isolated and tucked away from the main road.

The first of the three houses to be built, Number 250, starred opposite Joan Crawford in the Oscar-nominated 1952 classic Sudden Fear. This was followed by Number 246 and finally Number 242.

The home spans 2,401 square feet with four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. SF Gate notes that the adjacent Bay Area is the home’s “nearest and only neighbor.” Just across the bay is the famous Corinthian Yacht Club, founded in 1886.

The house was the brainchild of architect Jack Heidelberg and was built in 1950

The home spans 2,401 square feet with four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms

In addition to the main house there is also an attached studio, pier and boat dock

Unique architectural features include roughly hewn beams similar to those seen in warehouses in England in the 19th century, high ceilings and a Cotswold-style kitchen.

The upper floor has two bedrooms and a full bathroom. The water view bedroom has French doors leading to the view. That’s in addition to a gas fireplace and walk-in closet.

The garden view bedroom has a Juliet balcony overlooking the hillside.

There is also a downstairs bedroom with a living area and a full bath.

In addition to the main house there is also an attached studio, pier and boat dock. Stunning views of Angel Island and the San Francisco Bay Bridge can be enjoyed from the dock.

It is just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. The city of San Francisco is easily accessible from the nearby Tiburon/SF Ferry Terminal.

“The location is unusual on Belvedere Island in that it offers both road and water access. But it’s the design and history that really make this property special,” co-listing agent Elizabeth Green told SF Gate.

Unique architectural features include roughly hewn beams similar to those seen in warehouses in England in the 19th century, high ceilings and a Cotswold-style kitchen

There are stunning views of Angel Island and the San Francisco Bay Bridge

It is just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County

The house’s kitchen and bathrooms have been renewed, but Heidelberg’s “original whim” remains in the thatched roof and Juliet balcony

“The location is unusual on Belvedere Island in that it offers both road and water access. But it’s the design and history that really make this property special,” co-listing agent Elizabeth Green told SF Gate

A Heidelberg biography states that house number 242 was initially intended as a rental house, but was sold shortly after completion

Heidelberg designed three houses along Beach Road on Belvedere Island, with this house at number 242 being the most isolated and tucked away from the main road

Every room in the stunning house offers sea views

According to the SF Gate report, Heidelberg only became a sought-after architect after 242 was built

Heidelberg indulged his interest in architecture after buying land on the island to have a house built for his wife. His ideas made it to the final product.

According to the SF Gate report, Heidelberg only became a sought-after architect after 242 was built. Before designing the three houses on Belvedere Island, he had worked as an insurance salesman, having previously flirted with a career in music.

The house’s kitchen and bathrooms have been renewed, but Heidelberg’s “original whim” remains in the thatched roof and Juliet balcony.

A Heidelberg biography states that house number 242 was initially intended as a rental house, but was sold shortly after completion. It was built next to 246 but is further down the cliff, near the water.

Oscar winner Joan Crawford was so grateful for the way the Heidelbergers treated her during the shooting of Sudden Fear that she sent a letter expressing her gratitude.

In recent years, San Francisco and Lassen counties experienced the largest population declines in California, at 7.1 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

Assistant director of foreign affairs at the California Department of Treasury HD Palmer told the Sacramento Bee that the Golden State’s shrinking population is a reflection of the ongoing crisis in housing affordability.

“If you talk to demographers, they will say that one of the factors is the cost of housing. And that continues to be a challenge for the state,” he said.

Compass Chief Markets Analyst Patrick Carlisle told SF Gate this week that the Bay Area’s housing market has been hit the hardest, largely due to the abandonment of office space in the city.

Since 2020, the city has become a haven for criminals, with thieves breaking into stores in broad daylight and stealing items, and homeless people taking drugs right on the street — sometimes where students are walking home from school.

This rampant increase in homelessness and crime has eroded the “quality of life” downtown once offered, Carlisle said.

To make matters worse, recent mass layoffs at tech companies have forced middle-class workers to relocate.