Yaye Tokuyama Herman was born in Oxnard in 1913. She died in San Francisco on Aug. 2, 2007. In the 94 years between those dates, she did enough to make it clear, as the Spring 2008 California Academy of Sciences newsletter noted, that “enormous things come in small packages.”
Tokuyama Herman served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Her husband, Col. Robert Herman, whom she met while at the University of Illinois, was a commander in the 28th Composite Group under the Alaskan Air Command. Both eventually became doctors, with Tokuyama Herman specializing in nutritional microbiology.
The Hermans lived at 751 12th Ave., a block from Golden Gate Park. In the 1970s, Tokuyama Herman began volunteering at the Academy of Sciences as a docent. During the next 30 years, she led tours, took aquarium photos, worked in the veterinarian lab and became a staff microbiologist.
So taken was Tokuyama Herman with the Academy that when she died, she donated her Inner Richmond home to the institution. By then, she had not lived in the home for several years. Three months after the Academy took ownership, it was sold in May 2008 to Brian White and Tracy Green, whose intention was to completely restore it.
“It’s made for a family,” Pacific Union Realtor Peggy Economos said of the completed product. She pointed to features like silent-close drawers and cabinets in the kitchen, built-in storage space in the family room, and the backyard’s flat, deep lawn.
It’s made for a family that appreciates life’s finer things. White and Green have an eye for clean, high-end design, and luxurious details like restaurant-grade appliances and double-head showers.
Two years ago, this restored version of the home would have easily sold for a half-million dollars more than it’s presently listed for. That could have meant an extra ton of exotic fish for the Academy.
Hot property
751 12th Ave.
Where: San Francisco
Asking price: $2,195,000
Property tax: $28,535*
The property: Four-bedroom, 3½-bath Edwardian
Notable: Willed to the California Academy of Sciences, then bought and completely remodeled
Agent: Peggy Economos, Pacific Union, (415) 345-3107
* Estimate
Other Hot properties
177-179 Lower Terrace
Where: San Francisco
Asking price: $1,998,000
Property tax: $25,974*
The property: Two-unit home used as single-family house; three bedrooms, three baths, approximately 3,000 square feet
Notable: Four levels, remodeled kitchen, Corona Heights views
Agent: Pete Fisler, Leo Neveux, Pacific Union, (415) 606-6621 (Fisler), (415) 652-0420 (Neveux)
818 Crystal Springs Road
Where: Hillsborough
Asking price: $1,998,000
Property tax: $25,974*
The property: Four bedroom, 2,800 square feet; built in 1936
Notable: Beautifully landscaped, parklike grounds total 0.69 acres
Agents: Jim Arbeed, Coldwell Banker, (650) 558-4248.
* Estimate
