Knapp's Castle is a privately owned landmark ruined mansion in the

Santa Ynez Mountains The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges. The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created ...

near

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Built in 1916 by George Knapp, the estate included 5 bedrooms, an organ room, and even an observatory. Located near East Camino Cielo in the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

, the ridge-top site has a panoramic view of

Lake Cachuma Cachuma Lake is a reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley of central Santa Barbara County, California on the Santa Ynez River adjoining the north side of California State Route 154. The artificial lake was created by the construction of Bradbury ...

and the

Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley ( Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Ynez'') is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley f ...

. It was a popular destination for hikers and photographers. The site is no longer open to the public.

History

George Owen Knapp, founder of

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

, built Knapp's Castle shortly after purchasing the parcel in 1916. The location was so secluded that a new road had to be built to reach it. In 1940, Frances Holden bought the property and invited her friend, world-famous opera singer

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Pauline Sophie Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German-American dramatic soprano noted for her successful performances with international opera houses, on the recital stage and in teaching.She gave memorable ...

, to move in. The mansion was destroyed by a forest fire only five weeks later, and now only the massive sandstone foundations, fireplace pillars and walls of the original seven structures remain intact. The parcel remained privately owned but for many years the ruins were open to the public; many hikers and photographers took advantage of this permission. In January 2011, the site underwent new construction by the property owner, with a stone

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

-style addition, some reinforcements, and other work.

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...

ordered a stop to the construction due to a lack of permits, but the construction equipment remained on site.Knapp’s Castle Construction?
January 6, 2011, ''Santa Barbara Independent'' As of August 2020, the site was no longer accessible to the public due to active construction.

History

References

External links