Remaining artifacts from Steve Jobs' Jackling mansion may be headed to auction

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2020
Woodside, California is considering auctioning off items of historical and architectural significance that it collected from the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' Jackling mansion immediately prior to the 2011 demolition of the property.

Exterior of the Jackling house in 2006
Steve Jobs' Jackling Mansion, as it stood roughly 10 years ago.


There are no artifacts in the collection -- originally taken as salvage from the demolition -- that are Apple-related, other than Steve Jobs' proximity to them for a time. Items include a toilet, the original marble bathroom sink, antique light fixtures, several chandeliers that make up the majority of the valuation, the property's original mailbox, assorted fireplace implements including screens, floor tiles, examples of period iron-work, and some tableware.

There are four proposals on the table including offering the artifacts to the only remaining home in Woodside that was designed by the architect of the Jackling mansion. Other proposals include the aforementioned auction, offering the artifacts to UC-Santa Barbara free-of-charge, or sending all remaining items to salvage.

The 1926 Daniel C. Jackling estate was designed by George Washington Smith, the architect who created the look of Montecito and Santa Barbara in the '20s. Built for Mr. Jackling, a copper magnate who died in 1956, the house sat on six wooded acres that Jobs purchased in 1983 at the age of 29. Jobs would go on to live in the house -- largely unfurnished -- for roughly 10 years, often eating his meals on the bare floor. He saw no need for lavish furnishings, choosing only such bare essentials such as a mattress, chest of drawers, and a card table with folding chairs for when he had guests.

Jobs would go on to rent out the mansion for some time but it fell into vacancy around 2000. He then launched an effort to raze the building and replace it with a minimalist five-bedroom home designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, but wound up in a battle with preservationists group "Uphold Our Heritage" over his plan to tear it down.

Uphold Our Heritage argued that the Jackling mansion was one of the few remaining examples of a Spanish Colonial Revival style home and was therefore too historic to destroy. They also alleged that Jobs, who lived in the house periodically in the the '80s and early '90s, intentionally let the house fall into disrepair so that it would be easier to justify a case for tearing it down.

In 2006, photographer Jonathan Haeber stumbled upon the Jackling house to find its property gate ajar and the doors and broken windows to the house wide open. Many of the photos taken by Haeber depict items that the city is considering selling.



Jobs was ultimately given the okay to demolish the property in 2010. It was finally demolished in February 2011. Prior to the demolition the house had been empty since 2000. The sprawling mansion had 30 rooms, 14 bedrooms and 13-and-a-half bathrooms.

Jobs died in October of 2011, before construction of a new house on the property began.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    I stumbled upon the Mansion w/ the gate open as well.  I have a few more pictures of the outside.  Someone was keeping the swiming pool clean and there was a small vegitable garden. I sure hope they saved the organ.  As I remember it, they had the demolition equipment stages on the property and when they got the ok, it took about one day for full demolition. Who owns the property now?
  • Reply 2 of 15
    It amuses me that Americans consider something that’s not even a century old as “historic”. 
    My local pub was built before American was even discovered. 
    evilution1983watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 15
    How sad that Jobs was jacked around for over 10 years about what he can do with property HE OWNED!!!  
    edited October 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    ManicMoov said:
    It amuses me that Americans consider something that’s not even a century old as “historic”. 
    My local pub was built before American was even discovered. 
    It amuses me how some people think “historic” equals “old”. 

    I’m curious, were there ever publicly available plans for what Jobs hoped to build on that spot?
    edited October 2018 Soliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 15
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,040member
    I stumbled upon the Mansion w/ the gate open as well.  I have a few more pictures of the outside.  Someone was keeping the swiming pool clean and there was a small vegitable garden. I sure hope they saved the organ.  As I remember it, they had the demolition equipment stages on the property and when they got the ok, it took about one day for full demolition. Who owns the property now?
    The property is still owned by the Jobs family, probably a holding of the family trust now controlled by his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs. She is likely the person responsible for keeping the pool clean and having a small vegetable garden.

    The original plans plus revised plans were submitted to the Town of Woodside but are not accessible via the web due to copyright restrictions. You must visit Woodside's city offices to view them and copies are not allowed of the renderings.

    https://venturebeat.com/2016/03/18/steve-jobs-widow-is-finally-building-the-familys-silicon-valley-agricultural-wonderland-dream-home/

    The revised plans submitted years after Jobs' death are apparently considerably different than Steve's vision. Work was to begin presumably in 2017, I don't know if construction commenced, but the original estimate was approximately two years.
    edited October 2018 cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 15
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    Too bad the house wasn't taken care of.
    Not to nit, but in her book, Lisa Jobs says it's 7 acres.
    The address is 460 Mountain Home Rd., Woodside CA.
    edited October 2018 claire1
  • Reply 7 of 15
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    Depressing pictures, thought the house died with jobs until I read Jobs had "abandoned" it in 2000.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 15
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    How sad that Jobs was jacked around for over 10 years about what he can do with property HE OWNED!!!  
    Ownership of real property has never meant you can do anything you want with it. That property is still part of a county, a city, a state and the nation. Rules do apply.
    1983
  • Reply 9 of 15
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Artifacts are in museums. What they are selling are chattels. 
  • Reply 10 of 15
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,040member
    cpsro said:
    Too bad the house wasn't taken care of.
    Not to nit, but in her book, Lisa Jobs says it's 7 acres.
    The address is 460 Mountain Home Rd., Woodside CA.
    That IS nit picking.

    AppleInsider says 6 acres, Lisa Brennan Jobs says 7 acres. Clearly both are rounding. The San Mateo County Tax Collector definitely knows the size of the parcel, I'm sure it's between 6 and 7 acres but not exactly either of those two numbers.

    And who really cares except for the taxpayer and the tax collection agency?
    edited October 2018
  • Reply 11 of 15
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    mpantone said:
    cpsro said:
    Too bad the house wasn't taken care of.
    Not to nit, but in her book, Lisa Jobs says it's 7 acres.
    The address is 460 Mountain Home Rd., Woodside CA.
    That IS nit picking.

    AppleInsider says 6 acres, Lisa Brennan Jobs says 7 acres. Clearly both are rounding. The San Mateo County Tax Collector definitely knows the size of the parcel, I'm sure it's between 6 and 7 acres but not exactly either of those two numbers.

    And who really cares except for the taxpayer and the tax collection agency?
    No, you are nitpicking and making a huge deal over nothing. Congratulations. Lisa wrote that her dad wasn't even sure where the property ended.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    1348513485 Posts: 347member
    It's probably just me, but that was not an attractive house, inside or out. I can't believe anyone regarded it as historic. Save the organ, sure, because if some entity wanted one they are hideously expensive to build, but nothing else I've seen in photos since the controversy arose leads me to think it was a gem that needed preservation.

    Sometimes old is just old. At least that's what my kids tell me.
    welshdogwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 15
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    13485 said:
    It's probably just me, but that was not an attractive house, inside or out. I can't believe anyone regarded it as historic. Save the organ, sure, because if some entity wanted one they are hideously expensive to build, but nothing else I've seen in photos since the controversy arose leads me to think it was a gem that needed preservation.

    Sometimes old is just old. At least that's what my kids tell me.
    I agree, this house is not representative of archtecture that is worth preserving. While it has a few notable features and provenance, the overall package is really lacking the quality normally expected of something worth preserving.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    ManicMoov said:
    It amuses me that Americans consider something that’s not even a century old as “historic”. 
    My local pub was built before American was even discovered. 
    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/historic
  • Reply 15 of 15
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    I am all about saving old world architecture and craftsmen work, however, I am sorry the lights and chandlers are basic bent steel, this can be easily replicated today and probably look 10 times better and it does not represent a craft which is not done today. At the time they probably had a local blacksmith make them you can have that done today. I never understood why the local historical society fought so hard to same a mission style home made of brick and stucco. I bet if you look behind the stucco the brick work is crap and they hid it with stucco. These kinds of homes were not known for the high level of craftmanship.

    Now I hope the salvaged the natural wood beams those can not be easily replaced today. 
    edited October 2018 watto_cobra
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