For $1.6 million, you can own the house where Frank Herbert wrote the 1965 novel Dune, which has yet another Hollywood remake of it opening today.
Fun Fact: Science fiction author Frank Herbert was a nighttime editor at the San Francisco Examiner when he wrote Dune, which would become the best-selling science fiction novel of all time. According to an SFGate writeup from last month, Herbert’s son Brian quotes his father in his biography Dreamer of Dune saying, “By writing in the mornings, I gave my best energies to myself,” and that “The Ex got the rest.”
It all started in a now-beige house perched at the top of a steep hill on Mississippi Street in Potrero Hill. Today, viewing from 412 Mississippi, the city unfurls itself before one’s eyes. via @sfgate https://t.co/YuwPaslyFs
— Michelle Robertson (@mrobertsonsf) September 21, 2021
He also lived in San Francisco, at a house at 412 Mississippi Street (at 19th Street) seen above. That house is actually on the market, asking $1.6 million, though Redfin lists a sale as “Pending.”
Frank Herbert, the author of “Dune,” would have been 100 today. Before the novel was published, he lived in this house at 412 Mississippi St. in San Francisco. He worked as a night editor at the San Francisco Examiner and wrote his fiction during the day. pic.twitter.com/sZ6k2lY8yN
— John McMurtrie (@McMurtrieSF) October 8, 2020
“This Potrero Hill North Slope 2bed/1bath home is where sci-fi legend Frank Herbert wrote his masterpiece Dune!,” says the property listing. “Original charm, complemented by updates, creates the perfect place to call home--and feel the creative vibe!”
This tidbit of trivia comes in a separate SFGate piece on the Bay Area connections with the new Dune movie. The piece notes that the film stars Oakland native and Emmy winner Zendaya, and speaks with director Denis Villeneuve, who also helmed Blade Runner 2019.
“I’ve heard all the legends of Frank writing part of [Dune] in a van, part of it here in San Francisco. There’s currents that are definitely San Francisco, West Coast, the psychedelic movement and all that,” Villeneuve told SFGate. “In the DNA of Dune, there is San Francisco.”
The new Dune opens at Bay Area theaters today.
Related: S.F. Literary Map: Do You Live In A Famous Author's Apartment? [SFist]
Image: Google Street View
