Jackling House
Encyclopedia
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
, designed and built for copper mining magnate Daniel Cowan Jackling and his family by the noted California architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
George Washington Smith
George Washington Smith (architect)
George Washington Smith, , was an American architect and painter. He is noted particularly for his work around Santa Barbara, California, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America....
in 1925. Although considered a historic home, its final owner Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
demolished it in 2011, after a protracted court battle, in order to build a smaller home.
History
The Jackling House designer, George Washington SmithGeorge Washington Smith (architect)
George Washington Smith, , was an American architect and painter. He is noted particularly for his work around Santa Barbara, California, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America....
, was the foremost creator and proponent of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style which was popular in the U.S. in that era and after to the present day, especially in California and the Southwest. Based in Montecito
Montecito, California
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa...
, Smith helped create Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
's unified city planning and architectural aesthetic
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and many signifiant residences in the area in the 1920s. Daniel Jackling was a copper mines baron, and the estate represented his aesthetic values, wealth, and his family's needs. It contained a built in residence pipe organ constructed by the Aeolian Company
Aeolian Company
The Æolian Company was a manufacturer of player organs and pianos.- History :It was founded by New York City piano maker William B. Tremaine as the Æolian Organ & Music Co. to make automatic organs, and, after 1895, as the Æolian Co. automatic pianos as well. The Æolian Company was a...
and later enlarged by George Kilgen and Sons. George Washington Smith integrated the 17000 sq ft (1,579.4 m²) residence and landscaped gardens with a large traditional courtyard, open-air balconies, and many indoor-outdoor sightline and access connections. Details about the house and its contents when Jackling lived there, including the organ, are in his collected papers in the Stanford University Library.
Background
In 1984 Steve JobsSteve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
purchased the Jackling House and estate, and resided there for a decade. After that, he leased it out for several years until 2000 when he stopped maintaining the house, with the elements degrading it. In 2004, Jobs received permission from the town of Woodside to demolish the house in order to build a smaller contemporary styled one. Local preservationists created a new group, 'Uphold Our Heritage' (UOH), dedicated to saving the historic residence. They sued the town and Jobs claiming that both had ignored provisions of California law which prohibit cultural landmarks from being destroyed if there are reasonable, feasible ways to preserve them. They also contend the initial environmental impact report did not demonstrate that preserving the house would cost more than replacing it. "In addition, the town failed to demonstrate that demolishing the mansion would provide an 'overriding benefit' to the public, as required by state law," group attorney Doug Carstens has said. "The issue before you is not to preserve and rehabilitate a work of marginal importance; it is to assure the protection and survival of a work of great significance." said California Department of Parks and Recreation's State Historical Resources Commission chairperson Anthea Hartig, Ph.d.
Interim decisions
In January 2006, Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner agreed with 'Uphold Our Heritage' and held that Jobs could not tear the house down. He appealed to the State Court of Appeals and in January 2007, that Court unanimously confirmed the lower court ruling. Jobs' attorney asked for an appeal but in April 2007, the Supreme Court of CaliforniaSupreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
refused to hear the appeal.
In 2008, Jobs submitted a renewed permit application with updated estimates. The Woodside Town Council granted the permit a year later, in May, 2009, with the condition that Jobs must allow the house to be disassembled and moved elsewhere. In February 2010, Magalli and Jason Yoho offered to move the mansion to their five-acre lot in Woodside. Magalli Yoho reported in March that the house resembled a Spanish Colonial Revival mansion she lived in as a child in Ica, Peru. She said, "This house is just a good house for our family."
On March 8, 2010, Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner upheld the Woodside Town Council's 2009 decision that allows Jobs to tear down his house. If an appeal is not filed before Jobs obtains a demolition permit, then demolition can proceed. The demolition permit process typically takes "the better part of a couple of months", according to Woodside Town Manager Susan George.
On April 29, 2010, the architectural-historical preservationists group Uphold Our Heritage appealed the March court decision. The appeal put an "automatic stay" on the issuance of demolition permits. The group hoped that the house could be relocated and restored.