The magnificent Carolands Chateau was commissioned by Hariett Pullman Carolan, the heiress to the Pullman Railroad fortune, and her husband, Francis Carolans, in 1912, at the height of the Gilded age. Inspired by the great estates of Newport Rhode Island, Long Island, and elsewhere, there was to be nothing in the United States that would rival the Chateau’s size, architecture and splendor. Designed by Willis Polk and Ernest Sansons, the Chateau Carolands was completed in 2016.
Situated on 664 acres, the home contained 65,000 square feet with 98 rooms, including the largest atrium within a private residence in the U.S. Other rooms include a grand ballroom for entertaining highest of high society, a dining room with seating for 100, a music conservatory, aviary and much more. 9 years later, in 1925, in the blaze of the jazz age and roaring twenties, The Carolans sold around 160 acres to the Lang Development Company, the developers of Sea Cliff and Saint Francis Woods in San Francisco.
With the exuberance and the time and the many new fortunes and tycoons that were created from the booming economy and stock market, the most fabulous residential community that could ever be imagined broke ground. Everything had to be splendid. No lot could be smaller than 2 acres. Every home had to be an estate of classic architecture. Deed restrictions were put in place, and every new home had to pass relentless scrutiny.
All entry into the neighborhood had to pass through the elaborate gates and gate house manned with 24 hour security. Renown architects such as Willis Polk, Arthur Brown Jr. and Angus McSweeny got to work creating their masterworks. The depression could not stop the building of new estates, but the 2nd world war did. The few lots that remained after the war became the sites of contemporary and California Ranch home designed by such architects as Robert Steiner, Joseph Esherick, Sandy Babcock, William Wurster, among others that took advantage of the spectacular views, lush vegetation, sprawling grounds and mild climate.
Among the newer homes in the Carolands Estates, are homes designed by Farro Essalat, Nicholas Lee, Michael Kao, and Eric Nyhus. In 2001, 195 Robin broke ground. Designed by Jack McCarthy and built by Galli Builders, this magnificent home recaptures all the glory of the original Carolands Estates homes.
To walk or drive along Robin Road past the gated mansions secluded behind gates and majestic trees is an experience one will never forget, the realization that one has seen one of the most rare and beautiful residential communities in the entire US, if not the world.
