Jackling House
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Jackling House is a 1926 mansion in Woodside, California built for Daniel Cowan Jackling by the noted California architect George Washington Smith. Smith was the foremost proponent of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style which swept the west in that era and helped create Santa Barbara's unique architectural "look." Jackling was a copper baron for whom the estate represented a statement of his emerging wealth, power, and status.
In 1984 Steve Jobs purchased the 17,000 sq. ft. Jackling House and lived in it for ten years. He rented it for a time and in 2000, he stopped maintaining it. In 2004, Jobs received permission from the Town of Woodside to demolish the House in order to build a smaller house. Local preservationists created a new group, Uphold Our Heritage, dedicated to saving the building. 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.
In January, 2006, Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner agreed with UOH 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 has asked the State Supreme Court to accept an appeal. In April, 2007 the State Supreme Court refused to hear the Jobs appeal, which means he cannot tear the house down.
There have been at least three offers from private individuals to accept the House and move it to another local site. It appears that the way is now open for Jobs to negotiate with one of them to move the house to another suitable site so that he can build the new house he intended to replace it.
