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MyspaceFor the first time in 70 years, changes may be coming to the fabled Knapp’s Castle. Recent visitors to the site have been surprised to see construction equipment, vehicles, and a motor home at the popular Santa Ynez Mountain ruin.
Conjecture about what’s going on has ranged from reports that the area is being readied for an upcoming film shoot to the start of a construction project that could eliminate the ruins altogether. “Visited Knapp’s Castle this past Friday for the first time in years,” one person commented on the Santa Barbara Hikes website. “I was disappointed to find that the lodge area is now crowded with a trailer and a large amount of construction equipment and debris.”
Built in the early 1900s by George Owen Knapp as a private mountain lodge “that in natural beauty and grandeur will have few to equal it on the American continent.” Construction on the lodge was completed in 1920 and for many years served as a popular retreat for Knapp’s guests who were treated to after dinner entertainment courtesy of resident pipe organist Dion Kennedy.
In 1940 the 160-acre Knapp property was purchased by Francis Holden, a close friend of the famous opera singer Lotte Lehmann. The two had planned on making it their mountain home. Within weeks, however, the main buildings were destroyed in a forest fire that left behind it a scattering of stone archways, solitary chimneys and other stonework that has become known since as Knapp’s Castle.
A search of the assessor’s parcel map information indicates that a portion of the Knapp property recently changed hands. Purchased in 2004 by Castillo Cielo Holding Company LLC of Colorado, a 31.3-percent interest in the property was obtained by Calvin L. Smith in February 2010. It appears that Smith may be the person responsible for the recent changes.
Ray Ford
The most prominent of these has been the construction of what appears to be a series of bench-like steps facing the lower arches that appear to be the start of an outdoor amphitheater. The work is being done using native stone. Other improvements include adding reinforcement to some of the walls and chimneys as well as the outer walkways.
Los Padres Forest officials seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to the changes at Knapp’s Castle. “From our perspective, this is a personal matter on his or her property,” said Forest Service spokesperson Andrew Madsen, who said his agency was alerted to the situation last week and sent a ranger out to see what was happening. “They can do whatever they want to do so long as they’re permitted. That’s fine by us.” A check with County Planning, however, indicates that no permits have been filed for the work.
Note: After this story went to print, a site visit was made by Santa Barbara County Planning Department officials and a “stop work” order was issued for the Knapp construction.
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Comments
We used to go camping there in college. It is a pretty cool place. The first time we tried to find it we got there after dark and took a wrong turn. After hiking about 5 miles in the dark and fog we gave up and camped out on a ridge in about 40 mile per hour winds. Good times!
Num1UofAn (anonymous profile)
January 6, 2011 at 10:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a cool venue to listen to some music or maybe watch a little Shakespeare! What an inspiring backdrop for any type of performance.
reality_check (anonymous profile)
January 6, 2011 at 5:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There definitely was a film crew up there around Dec. They parked on ECC and we saw them carrying movie equipment down the fire-road. One of the production crew asked us to move because they were about to begin a shoot. But we noticed the construction work started many weeks before the film crew arrived (first notice the RV in early Nov). So we weren't sure if the two were connected.
EastBeach (anonymous profile)
January 6, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank You Independent, we were up there a week ago and ran into this situation with the RV and the construction. Great job getting some answers, please follow up with more information.
CManSB (anonymous profile)
January 7, 2011 at 2:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is so... enraging. The location had an untouched magical feel to it, for 70 years it was just fine AS IS... Then some out-of-state jerk comes in and destroys it. The sad part is, even if the stop-work order stands, it can never be put back the way it was. 70 years of history, poof... erased. Thanks CALVIN L. SMITH! Jerk.
velcrowmist (anonymous profile)
January 7, 2011 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee, velcrowmist, why didn't you buy it? It's so fun to see you get enraged over somebody else using what belongs to them. That's an ugly sense of entitlement you're displaying.
rambler (anonymous profile)
January 8, 2011 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Here we go again. The illegitimate users of someone's private property are outraged ("enraging"? I am outraged by your enragement, velcrowmist) because the owner wants to (gasp!) use it themselves. Why don't you freeloaders take up a collection and buy the property? Is this total disregard for private property and the law a California thing? A Santa Barbara thing? A UCSB thing (think bank-burning)? Or some kind of mental deficiency?
If you want "the people" to own everything, move to Cuba (oh, forgot, they recently figured out that public ownership of everything doesn't work - only took them 50 years - guess you'll have to move to North Korea or Myanmar). Or better yet, demonstrate your sincere beliefs by giving me everything you have - in your world you don't own it anyway and in your world I should have it because I want it..
JohnLocke (anonymous profile)
January 9, 2011 at 10:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Exactly, JL. And it's laughable how people get mad about construction on a private site that is only known nowadays because Knapp originally cleared the land and built a house. If Knapp hadn't built his house, then that little patch of land would just be another chaparral fringed slope on the backside of the mountains that nobody would ever bother walking to, like 9 million other spots.
ScummyD (anonymous profile)
January 10, 2011 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Rights and legalities aside, something rare and wonderful is being lost. There's something about remote ruins that gives young people feelings of immortality, often followed by fornication, I seem to recall. The Castle (!) was also a great place for partakers of cannabis to wax philosophical, and for drinkers to fling empty containers into the face of The Official God, be it Ozymandius or some slightly less ancient name. Shooters could destroy any bottles that missed the walls... hostility had its temple of devastation. We The People should have bought it when we had the dough!
Adonis_Tate (anonymous profile)
January 11, 2011 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I prostrate myself in your general direction, Adonis_Tate!
Λ Λ Λ
.|..|..|....That entire comment is one of the funniest and most insightful I have read on this website ("there's something about remote ruins that gives young people feelings of immortality, often followed by fornication, I seem to recall") certainly tops for 2011 thus far.
The bar has been raised.
binky (anonymous profile)
January 11, 2011 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL!
Its amazing how different readers' reactions to the same article can be. A few people get their undies tied in knots while the rest reminisce and wax poetic.
EastBeach (anonymous profile)
January 11, 2011 at 7:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The national parks are beautiful places, and public at that.
And yes, EastBeach, some of us do get incensed about violations of little things like private property, intellectual property theft (i.e. stealing music and videos), etc. How 'bout you give me your car, if you have one - I've decided your private property should be mine.
JohnLocke (anonymous profile)
January 12, 2011 at 8:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen, JohnLocke.
sbmomandpop (anonymous profile)
January 12, 2011 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"And yes, EastBeach, some of us do get incensed about violations of little things like private property, intellectual property theft (i.e. stealing music and videos), etc. How 'bout you give me your car, if you have one - I've decided your private property should be mine."
-- JohnLocke
You seriously can't be asking me if I own a car? Now I'm really questioning your sanity and blood pressure levels!
BTW, who was advocating trespassing and theft? I'm pretty sure it wasn't me.
EastBeach (anonymous profile)
January 13, 2011 at 11:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I loved walking the property, taking in the view, and partying there in college, oh so long ago. We don't have many ruins in the US and Knapps Castle offered a sense of timelessness and adventure, albeit on someone's private property. While grateful to trespass and respectful of private property, mine included, it is sad to see a mobile home and equipment there. Also sad to see strewn bottles and garbage. I'd love it to stay wild and abandoned, but alas, not practical. I have seen folks donate land that was used by locals for gathering and for beach access, but it is rare and the city/county then had to maintain it. Obviously most people don't have the resources to donate land and/or others to buy it. I can appreciate the sense of loss when a beloved place is no longer accessible, kinda breaks your heart even when you know it was never yours to begin with. We are connected to the land, we feel a kinship, even when it's a borrowed view...
wudusay (anonymous profile)
December 16, 2012 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)