Shea's Castle

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Shea’s Castle, also known as Sky Castle and Castle Ranch, is a castle built in 1924 by the developer Richard Peter Shea. Shea, a New Yorker, moved to the dry climate of Southern California in hopes of improving the health of his wife, Ellen. Shea made his fortune developing Hancock Park in Los Angeles. He spent two years building the castle on about 1500 acres (6 km²) of land in the Antelope Valley, just east of Lancaster and just south of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 bankrupted Shea. The bank took over the castle and Shea died penniless.

A variety of owners and renters have occupied the castle since. Roy Rogers trained his horse Trigger there. A non-profit flying group added a runway, dam and lake there. The playboy Tommy Stewart Lee lived there for a short time before his family declared him mentally incompetent. He later committed suicide.

The castle has seen its share of development plans as well, but to this day it remains pretty much unchanged. There are petroglyphs on the property, as well as natural springs and an FAA approved landing strip. It has been a location for 1967's Blood of Dracula's Castle and TV shows such as Bat Masterson, The Rat Patrol, Air Wolf and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

It is currently a private residence.