A mogul and his mansion

Le Petit Trianon, at 3800 Washington, is a replica of Marie Antoinette's refuge at Versailles.

Renovation of  Le Petit Trianon — long delayed — is now scheduled to begin this summer. The grand home at 3800 Washington Street has been empty for years and largely unattended, even since it was bought in 2007 for $22 million by tech mogul Halsey Minor, founder of CNet.

“The state of Le Petit Trianon is a perfect metaphor for the troubles of Minor,” says a Bay Citizen report, which calls the landmark home “almost comically formal.”