Saturday, August 13, 2011

Eccentric Sam's Castle to open for public viewing


Once upon a time, a rich man feared earthquakes and fires, so he built a castle.

The castle sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It had turrets and battlements, thick walls and a towering barricade.

Alas, the castle was not in the medieval English moors. It was in the Bay Area, which meant only one thing: It became a bastion of total and utter weirdness.

"I'd say this is definitely the oddest thing around here," said Kathleen Manning, president of the Pacifica Historical Society. "The things that went on here were incredible. And they're all true."

Known as Sam's Castle, the 103-year-old gray concrete monolith in Pacifica has been an abortion clinic, speakeasy, brothel, party palace, Coast Guard outpost and the residence of an elegant old San Francisco family.

Now it's ushering in its newest incarnation: public venue. As the castle's first major renovations wrap up, the public will soon have ample opportunity to see the four-story, 24-room manse in all its gothic glory.

That is, if they don't mind the ghosts.

Posted by Steve Sinai

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