Abandoned Mansion in CA had Secret Rooms and a Hidden Bootleg Distillery

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The Rispin Mansion was built for Henry Allen Rispin, who resided in the house from 1921 until 1929. Rispin made his first land purchase in Capitola in 1918 and would eventually own and control nearly all of the community until his economic collapse in 1929. He was responsible for transforming a sleepy little summer Campground into a year-round seaside tourist attraction.

Capitola is strategically located along the state's coastal highway, and Rispin foresaw the potential of this seaside community for year-round tourism and weekend excursions. The 1920s saw the development of better roads, better cars, greater availability of gasoline, and, most importantly, the completion of the Glenwood Highway (Highway 17) in 1923 connecting Santa Cruz County to the valley areas. In fact, street names in Capitola (San Jose, Stockton, Sacramento, Hollister, and Oakland; to name a few) pay tribute to the valley towns and their weekend visitors to Capitola. Henry Rispin had the vision to see the potential of Capitola as a resort community and the resources to provide those amenities which make Capitola such an enjoyable resort area.

Camp Capitola existed since 1869 as a simple cottage and tent colony founded by Frederick A. Hihn. Rispin acquired Hihn's holdings in 1918, which included an 18-hole golf course, the beach bandstand and bathhouse, as well as the markets and shops along the Esplanade.

Rispin was a native to Canada and found Capitola through his investments in Denver and San Francisco. He was already familiar with the development potential of this community through his association with the Capitola Heights subdivision, one of the earliest land divisions intended for year-round residents.

Rispin was well admired in this seasonal resort town that had grown accustomed to ownership by the wealthy. Katherine Cope Henderson, Hihn's eldest daughter and executor of his estate, felt that it would require "a mastermind, like that of her father," to make Capitola a great success.

The "Rispin Years" began with Rispin's dream of transforming Capitola into the "Riviera of the New World". Rispin promptly renamed the town Capitola-by-the-Sea and soon commenced construction on the 10,000 square foot mansion, a significant architectural landmark located on the banks of Soquel Creek, a site from which Rispin could observe his wharf and beach area.

Rispin quickly made many public improvements, then began to subdivide and sell residential lots. The development of many new cottages attracted more people, with a deeper interest in the town. Rispin was also instrumental in the creation of the Venetian Courts, recognized as the first coastal condominium in the state (constructed in 1925).

Rispin's fortune fell apart with the crash of the stock market and the Great Depression, Rispin sold the resort properties and his personal estate at an auction on Capitola Beach, August 16^th, 1929. Though his financial reign ended abruptly, Rispin's legacy lives on in the very visible transformation of a sleepy beach camp into the thriving year-round resort that exists today.

Building Description

The Rispin Mansion is a 22-room, 10,000-square-foot house on a 6.5-acre estate located on the banks of Soquel Creek in the community of Capitola. The house was constructed in 1921 in a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style for Henry Allen Rispin, a wealthy oil baron who was responsible for much of the development of Capitola during the 1920s. Built into the side of a hill, the four-level house is distinguished by concrete walls with plaster finish, hip and gabled tiled roofs, balustraded terraces, an arched portico, and a massive chimney with six flues. The grounds include a concrete pool and fountain, and rock walls and steps. There is also a well house located along Wharf Road at the southwest corner of the property. The mansion was left vacant by one of its owners over 30 years ago, and since that time vandals have stripped off or otherwise destroyed interior features. The grounds have not been maintained and are overgrown with poison oak, weeds, berry bushes, and other vegetation.

Major physical characteristics of the mansion include a large bay window that extends from the basement to the fourth level, a gracious entry portico, and ornamental Mediterranean-style windows The Rispin grounds include a concrete pool and fountain, and rock walls and steps. There is also a well house located along Wharf Road at the southwest corner of the property. The 750 square foot well house has wood shingle siding and was built ca. 1922 in conjunction with the construction of the mansion.

Construction of the mansion was part of Rispin's dream of making Capitola the "Riviera of the New World". Comprised of four levels and two wings, the structure features one main vertical bay extending from the basement to the fourth floor. The exterior is concrete with a plaster finish in the typical Mediterranean style. The roof is low-pitched Spanish tile with hip and gable. The structural system of the building is reinforced concrete.

An entry portico with two patios flanking the living room and library still exists on the third (ground) level. Above the entry portico on the fourth level is a terrace in fair condition. The mansion has several Mediterranean-style windows, with ornaments typical of this vernacular.

One of the singular features of the mansion is the chimney with six flues, although there are only five fireplaces. The sixth flue led to a mysterious room, without a fireplace, in the basement, and there is speculation that it was used as a still, a theory consistent with rumors of bootlegging in the mansion.

The mansion's decorative exterior features include rock walls and steps, along with walkways leading to the once exquisitely landscaped grounds. Mediterranean-style pillars surround the portico and balcony above. The courtyard and terraces separate the stairs leading from the portico to the upper garden with its concrete pool and ornamental fountain. Ornate stonework surrounds the windows and arched entryways.

Significant interior features include arched and tiled entries, herringbone patterned oak floors, carved banisters, tiled bathrooms, and massive French windows. Rooms in the four-level floor plan include a living room, dining room, library, kitchen, screened porch, servants' quarters, bedrooms, basement; sub-basement, and secret rooms. These impressive interior features have been either removed, destroyed, or severely damaged by incessant vandalism over the years. The mansion was left vacant by one of its subsequent owners in the late 1950s, and since that time, vandals have stripped off or otherwise destroyed its interior features. The grounds have not been maintained and are overgrown with poison oak, weeds, berry bushes, and other vegetation.

In 1986, the City of Capitola purchased the mansion and began the process of clearing out the weeds and garbage left by vandals. The City has determined that, even with the severe deterioration of the property due to years of neglect, the mansion is structurally sound, and the ravages of time and abuse have had little impact on its historical integrity.