After more than two years on and off the market, one of Pacific Heights’ most recognizable historic mansions has finally found a buyer — the government of Algeria.
Public records show that the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria finalized a deal Tuesday to purchase 2800 Pacific Ave. for just under $10 million. The deal marks one of the rare occasions in recent years that a foreign government has stepped into San Francisco’s luxury housing market — and closes the chapter on the property’s prolonged sale that involved a series of price cuts.
The 127-year-old, 8,200-square-foot mansion by architect Ernest Coxhead, often referred to as both the “Coxhead Mansion” and “Herbst Manor” — a hat tip to one-time owners Adrian and Lee Herbst Gruhn, who are also the namesakes of the city’s Herbst Theater — is renowned for its stately architecture and commanding views of the city. Its original owner, wealthy art collector Sarah Spooner, assembled the lots and hired the “starchitect” to create the opulent home.
Years ago, the home won the admiration of famed Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, who described 2800 Pacific as the city’s “most iconic” mansion…