8357 The Grant Place

Bonita, CA 91902

Historic Home of Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. son of Ulysses Grant, the 18th President of the United States. Build in 1894 and designed by William S. Hebbard, this one of a kind property is located on 2.6 acres of preserved land on a hill overlooking San Miguel Mountain, the Bonita Golf course and the Sweetwater Valley. The historic Grant House has been meticulously renovated and beautifully upgraded with a modern upscale interior while preserving the last century charm, elegance and character. It is subject to Mills Act Tax Savings! Welcome to The Grant House! The 2,296 square-foot Dutch Colonial Revival home is the former residence of Ulysses S. Grant Jr., son of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. The home features four white columns, leaded windows, brick walls, and a 129-year-old 25-foot Moreton Bay Fig tree in the back yard. The Grant House is one of the oldest homes in Bonita, built as a getaway for the son of the 18th U.S. president. It’s a teller of tales going back to its 1894 construction. It is now designated as a Historical Home and benefits from potential Mills Act tax savings. Once one of the most prominent, but now little-remembered, early civic leaders, the younger Grant (nicknamed Buck) had never been to San Diego before he and his family visited in 1893 and decided to stay. Like so many other newcomers at the time, they were seeking a better climate for Buck’s ailing wife, Fannie, and mother, Julia Dent Grant, the President’s widow. Buck’s younger brother Jesse also moved here with his family at the same time. On his arrival here, Buck Grant bought a three-story property at Eighth Avenue and Ash Street and hired noted San Diego architect William S. Hebberd to build the Bonita home in 1894. That same year Jesse Grant commissioned a similar home from Hebberd at Sixth Avenue and Quince Street, across the street from an as-yet undeveloped Balboa Park. Buck Grant took a prominent role in local causes, such as water development and Balboa Park’s development (he chaired the 1915 Panama-California Exposition board), and invested in numerous real estate ventures, most notably the U. S. Grant Hotel that opened in 1910. He died in 1929 and some descendants still live in San Diego County. The Grants sold the house in the 1920s (during Prohibition) to Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle and his Hollywood friends as a “gentlemen’s retreat”. Mr. Laemmle owned racehorses that ran at Santa Anita. During the off-season, he would stable his horses at the Grant House during the racing season at Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico. His horses would be trailered to Caliente. On the return trip, the empty trailers would be filled with booze. Mr. Laemmle hosted lavish parties for the stars of his movies: Clark Gable, John Wayne, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Charlie Chaplin. Wyatt Earp, who owned a bar and brothel in downtown San Diego was also a frequent guest. Mr. Laemmle brough “wannabe” starlets from Hollywood to The Grant House to “entertain” his gentlemen guests. After several changes in ownership over the years, The Grant House fell into a state of disrepair. A detailed renovation was done by local developers Jeff Phair and Bill Davidson, San Diego’s most awarded homebuilder. The Grant House is now available to a new owner to purchase a piece of San Diego’s history.

Listing courtesy of FOSTER HAMILTON Real Estate Co



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Data last update at 2023