Secret Glen Park estate, occupying a full city block, on the market for $12.5M

One of San Francisco's largest, and perhaps most secret, estates is on the market for $12.5 million.

Many don't even realize 47 Chenery exists. But its statue-laden grounds and opulent mansion occupy a full city block.

This palatial compound owned by bon vivant Bob Pritikin is hidden among the trees, corner liquor stores, apartment buildings and single-family homes on the edge of San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood.

You enter through a three-unit building fronting Chenery and then walk into an English country-style garden leading to the five-bedroom, five-bathroom main home with an elegant French neoclassical facade.

"It's straight out of Paris," says listing agent Joel Goodrich of Coldwell Banker.

One of the largest estates in San Francisco, 47 Chenery in Glen Park is on the market for $12.5 million. One of the largest estates in San Francisco, 47 Chenery in Glen Park is on the market for $12.5 million. Photo: Open Homes Photography Photo: Open Homes Photography Image 1 of / 73 Caption Close Secret Glen Park estate, occupying a full city block, on the market for $12.5M 1 / 73 Back to Gallery

Enter the front door and you step inside a foyer, one of the home's many extraordinary entertaining spaces.

"It can comfortably hold five dinner tables of 10," Goodrich says.

Beyond the neomodern staircase that splits to the left and right at the top, the living room is nearly the size of a tennis court.

"It's definitely one of the largest living rooms in the city," he says.

The home was built in 1986 by Pritikin, who originally tried to purchase the famed Presidio Heights estate "Le Petit Trianon" modeled after Versailles.

"But he wasn't able to get it," Goodrich says. "Someone else snatched it up. He decided to buy a big lot and build an estate with the same French neoclassical inspiration."

Pritikin is a fascinating character who has been profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle several times. Mike Kepka wrote of Pritikin in 2014:

He's had more careers than most. He once was an adman in both New York and Los Angeles. He owned a purportedly haunted inn in Pacific Heights called the Mansions Hotel. He's written three books, including "Christ Was an Ad Man." He ran a magic and comedy theater until the economy tanked after 9/11. Oh, and he's also America's foremost saw player - or at least, that's what it says on the cover of a super-hard-to-find 45 he released in 1977 called "Disco Saw."

Pritikin is also an avid collector and the compound houses an eclectic kaleidoscape of fine art and oddities. They include the clock that once hung above F.A.O. Schwarz in San Francisco and the famous wall-size replica of Rembrandt's enigmatic "Night Watch" commissioned by the Lord Mayor of Amsterdam.

Over the years, Pritikin has hosted many fabulous fundraisers and parties. At one of his annual Labor Day parties for up to 850 people, Carol Channing performed a cabaret set wearing pigtails with red ribbons in her hair. Other extraordinary guests have included Mickey Rooney, Liberace and Bob Weir.

The total compound consists of 9,966 square feet of living space as well as an indoor-outdoor swimming pool with a glass retractable roof and a four-car carport, plus more parking in the driveway for up to 15 cars.

"It's definitely in the top five in terms of size in San Francisco," Goodrich says.

Tenants occupy the multiunit building with two two-bedroom units and a one-bedroom with a loft. Pritikin, who's well into his 80s, still lives in the main residence and Goodrich says when the property is purchased he plans to move into "some other glamorous place."

The property officially hit the MLS Thursday and it was shown as a pocket listing over the summer.

"The people we'd expect to be interested are ... tech people, families, art collectors," he says. "We have one international buyer who is flying in to see the property. It has a variety of markets."