The $16 million mansion that was cut in half with a chainsaw

Could this be the very first mobile home?

A $16 million listing in California was once halved with a chainsaw and transported to its new location.

There was a practical reason for such aggression with a beautiful mansion built in 1904.

The property, which is now on the market in the US, once stood in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights area and was split in two and ferried on San Francisco Bay to its address in Belvedere, Marin County, CA.

Moffitt Mansion was under threat of demolition in the 1960s.

To save it, a construction crew used chainsaws to fracture it down the middle and put the pieces on a barge. It made headlines, when such a method was probably seen as renegade and extravagant.

The wrecking ball loomed over the mansion as San Francisco’s population boomed and demand for denser housing threatened older, larger homes that occupied precious development space.

Today, it’s a $US11.95 million ($16.2 million) listing, perfectly preserved despite its precarious past, on the books of agent Janet Williamson of Compass.

At 8 West Shore Road, the five-bedroom manor has “custom millwork and moldings”, the advertising explains, ornate fireplaces, elegant leadlight windows, expanses of hardwood flooring and banks of French doors.

The main bedroom has a spa-style bathroom, with a freestanding tub and a private balcony that captures a tickling breeze from San Francisco Bay.

Large doors in the living room fold back to the landscaped pool area, which has red brick paving and a pebbled fire-pit zone with a built-in stone lounge, shaded by olive trees.

A “bonus” room on the upper level shows off the character of the old building, with its dramatically angular ceiling and wood-burning fire.