312 Sheridan Avenue, Piedmont
Presented by Debbi DiMaggio and Bernie Myers, HIGHLAND PARTNERS
The gracious American Colonial house at 312 Sheridan Avenue is on the market for the first time in over 55 years. It was built in 1920 for Henry L. Chase and his young family. Chase was a commercial property and investment manager and chose this generous pie-shaped lot for his own home. Designed as a family home, the rooms are large, the ceilings are high, and many windows bring in lots of light. With five bedrooms and a flexible floor plan, there is plenty of room to play, study and/or work.
Retaining many of the original details, this classic house has recently been renovated throughout with a new kitchen and bathrooms, new exterior and interior paint, refinished hardwood floors and new landscaping. The unusual Dutch front door is capped with a curved pediment and flanked by square, paneled columns. Angled bay windows bring in light to the generous living and dining rooms. French doors on each side of the classic fireplace lead from the living room to the brick terrace with new wood benches. The dining room opens directly to the spacious kitchen with its 8-burner Viking stove and pot filler faucet, Viking refrigerator, marble counters and generous pantry space. The house has many of the original chandeliers. Beyond the kitchen, there is a family room with built-in bookcases, guest room and full bathroom,
laundry room (once a breakfast room with corner cabinet) and interior access to the garage. A rear entrance opens directly from the driveway to the kitchen.
In addition to the guest room on the main level, there are five bedrooms upstairs. Three bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms including the master bedroom with an adjacent dressing room with a wall of closets, and two other large bedrooms. Two more bedrooms connect to each other and share a bath. A nearby alcove offers an excellent space for student computers. Throughout, there are lots of closets.
The finished attic offers more flexible space with two bonus rooms and a peek-a-boo view to the west. The basement has a half bath, two storage rooms and space for a ping pong or pool table.
The location remains as excellent today as it was when the neighborhood (the Highland Court Tract) was developed. As early as 1915, the Highland Court Tract was advertised as being close to the original Havens School, Piedmont Park and transportation. When the house was built, the Key System streetcar ran directly behind the house. Today, the house is convenient to the bus route.
The building permit was taken out by A. J. Hopper and Sons. This may have been a clerical error. Contractor Myron E. Hopper built several Piedmont homes under the name of M. E. Hopper and Sons, Alfred J. Hopper and Marshall E. Hopper. Marshall Hopper is credited with designing several houses in Piedmont and may have designed 312 Sheridan. Unfortunately, no architect or designer is listed on the 1920 building permit, nor is one given in any Oakland Tribune newspaper articles of the day.
When Henry Chase built the house, he and his wife Ruth had four children under the age of 8 and a Japanese servant. He lived here for only five
years when Mina Foster, her widowed daughter Marie Green, her son and daughter, and their maid moved in and lived here to at least 1943.
By 1955, the Samuel P. Stevens family was living here. Stevens was a banker with American Trust in San Francisco, and he and his wife Mary Elizabeth raised their son and daughter here.
For further information please contact Debbi DiMaggio or Bernie Myers at 510.428.0900 | 510.339.9290
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