In 1997, a woman bought a condemned 1888 San Diego mansion for $188,500; after an 8-year restoration, it has 30-plus chandeliers, a secret bar, ‘Titanic’ movie-set columns and a $4.5 million asking price
In 1997, artist and preservationist Karen Groebli walked into a boarded-up, condemned Victorian mansion in San Diego’s Bankers Hill neighborhood and saw potential where others saw only ruin. As she later told Homes.com, the plaster was hanging from the walls, original gas lines dangled from the ceiling, broken windows littered the floors and the interior…