Bing Crosby's Bay Area mansion hits market for record-breaking asking price: 'So much legacy here'

HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- The Bay Area home of legendary entertainer Bing Crosby has hit the market for the first time in decades.

It's located in Lower North Hillsborough on more than five acres of land. If you're interested, the home is on sale for the record-breaking asking price of $40 million.

"Bing raised his three children here with his wife, Kathryn, and they lived their lives here," said Jennifer Gilson, realtor at Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty, who is the property's listing agent. "Kathryn lived here up until just a few months ago."

Gilson said the family made the tough decision to sell, following Kathryn Crosby's passing in September at 90 years old.

"There's a lot of love that has gone into this home and has continued," Gilson said.

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This is the first time in more than 60 years that the home has been on the market, and it's been in the Crosby family that entire time.

Seen throughout the more than 18,000-square-foot estate are countless photographs of Crosby with family and fellow stars. Gold records and plaques are on display in his office, surrounded by walls with wood paneling from Hearst Castle. Crosby's iconic hats can be seen hanging right where we he left them.

"These are all memories that the family really wanted to keep within the home. This is not staged," Gilson said.

More memories and iconic items can be found right around every corner.

"This piano here was in the movie 'High Society,'" Gilson said, standing next to the iconic instrument. "Kathryn, Bing, their family. They all had great parties here. They all played the piano, sang here. A lot of really great memories in this home, tons of legacy."

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The home was built in 1929. One of the architects, John Bakewell Jr., worked on creating San Francisco City Hall. Gilson said Bakewell was commissioned by Lindsay Howard, whose father, Charles, owned the famous horse Seabiscuit.

Crosby, a friend of the Howard's, eventually bought the home.

The hope now is that even when the physical mementos are gone, the next buyer will still cherish the home's legacy.

"It could be someone local from Hillsborough that is looking for a compound, looking for privacy. It could be someone that wants to be in the heart of the Peninsula, close to Silicon Valley, close to San Francisco," Gilson said. "This could be an international buyer that is looking for a trophy property, because there is so much legacy here. So, I think we will attract several different types of buyer profiles."