Whoopi Goldberg Sells Berkeley Home She Bought When She Was Still Caryn Johnson
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Berkeley is losing one of its most famous residents -- Caryn Johnson.
Most people know her as Whoopi Goldberg.
The real estate experts at Redfin said Goldberg just listed the "compound" she bought back in 1985. It's described as a "beautifully restored 1890 Victorian-style home, and a two-story barn that has been (illegally) converted into an adorable cottage."
Goldberg originally purchased the home for $335,000; now she is asking $1.275 million.
The main house, located at 2212 McKinley Avenue, is about 1455 square feet. (The illegal cottage conversion adds another 1635 square feet.) It has "New Orleans-style" architecture, with its "large front porch and gingerbread-style overhangs and columns."
The former Ms. Johnson moved to Berkeley in the 70s and worked odd jobs as a bank teller, a mortuary cosmetologist, even a bricklayer. She joined the city's oldest avant-garde theater troupe, the Blake Street Hawkeyes. There, Goldberg created her one-woman show, The Spook Show. It was a hit. She performed it before audiences in Europe, across the U.S., and New York City.
Goldberg's career would take many twists and turns after that, but suffice it to say, it began in Berkeley.
The little house on McKinley is quaint compared to the mansions and sprawling multi-million dollar estates in New York, New Jersey and Vermont the comedian, actor, television host has lived over the course of her career.
No word yet as to why Goldberg decided to part with the home after all these years.
