The house was built for
William Bowers Bourn II and his wife Agnes Moody. At the age of 17, Bourn had inherited a successful gold mine named the Empire Mine (now the
Empire Mine State Historic Park), among his other business ventures. Bourn commissioned architect
Willis Polk to design the house. Polk later designed many of Bourn's buildings, including his
Filoli country estate in
Woodside,
California; which was light and informal in design. In the 1970s, the Bourn Mansion was purchased by socialite Arden Dee Van Upp (
née Rich) and her partner, they were known for their lavish
rock and roll themed parties in the house. In 1975, Arden's teenaged daughter Tammy Ann was nationally famous for her belly dance routines with her large
python snake named Gideon, which often seen at the Bourn Mansion parties. After a sale of the property in 2010, the Bourn Mansion was underwent seismic retrofit in 2011, and was renovated in 2012. At the time of sale the asking price was US$2.9 million, with 14-bedrooms, and 4.5-bathrooms. == See also ==