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Shea’s Castle – The Irish Castle In The Mojave Desert

<div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;inline et&lowbar;social&lowbar;mobile&lowbar;on et&lowbar;social&lowbar;inline&lowbar;top">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networks et&lowbar;social&lowbar;4col et&lowbar;social&lowbar;slide et&lowbar;social&lowbar;rounded et&lowbar;social&lowbar;left et&lowbar;social&lowbar;no&lowbar;animation et&lowbar;social&lowbar;withnetworknames et&lowbar;social&lowbar;outer&lowbar;dark">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<ul class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icons&lowbar;container"><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;facebook">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;facebook&period;com&sol;sharer&period;php&quest;u&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fhouseandhistory&period;com&percnt;2Fsheas-castle&percnt;2F&&num;038&semi;t&equals;Shea&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;99s&percnt;20Castle&percnt;20&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;93&percnt;20The&percnt;20Irish&percnt;20Castle&percnt;20In&percnt;20The&percnt;20Mojave&percnt;20Desert" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"facebook" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"3044" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;facebook"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Facebook<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;twitter">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;share&quest;text&equals;Shea&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;99s&percnt;20Castle&percnt;20&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;93&percnt;20The&percnt;20Irish&percnt;20Castle&percnt;20In&percnt;20The&percnt;20Mojave&percnt;20Desert&&num;038&semi;url&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fhouseandhistory&period;com&percnt;2Fsheas-castle&percnt;2F" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"twitter" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"3044" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;twitter"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Twitter<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;pinterest">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"&num;" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share&lowbar;pinterest" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"pinterest" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"3044" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;pinterest"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Pinterest<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;like">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"like" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"3044" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"like" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;like"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Like<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><&sol;ul>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>Shea’s Castle&comma; also known as Sky Castle or Castle Ranch&comma; is a private Irish-style castle located in the Mojave Desert&comma; California&comma; just 30 minutes north of Santa Clarita&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3053" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle 2" width&equals;"950" height&equals;"585" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"> THE HISTORY OF SHEA&&num;8217&semi;S CASTLE<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Shea’s Castle was built in 1924 by New York native Richard Peter Shea&comma; who hoped the isolated spot and the clear&comma; dry air would help his wife Ellen’s health issues&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After making a fortune after subdividing Hancock Park and other wealthy Los Angeles enclaves that sold for a total of &dollar;56 million&comma; Shea spent &dollar;175&comma;000 on his isolated eight-bedroom&comma; seven-bath&comma; two-kitchen castle&comma; with 512 acres of land in the Mojave Desert&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Shea hired more than 100 local laborers to quarry thousands of tons of granite from boulders on the property to create the Irish-style castle&&num;8217&semi;s three to five-foot thick walls&period; They also created a 10-acre man-made lake&comma; and a stable&comma; also built to look like a castle&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3046" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle" width&equals;"640" height&equals;"360" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After two years of building&comma; Shea’s Castle was complete&period; However&comma; it was only a few years after that the 1929 stock market crash sent Shea’s finances plummeting&comma; forcing them to abandon the castle and move back to LA&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After moving to Wilshire Boulevard&comma; Shea lost his castle to the bank after borrowing heavily against it&period; Then in October 1932&comma; his beloved wife Ellen passed away from the health issues she had been fighting&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Two months later&comma; a despondent Shay walked into the ocean&comma; drowning himself&period; He was found near Venice Pier with his wife’s ashes in a small container tied around his neck&period; He was just 57 years old&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">FAMOUS TENANTS AND OWNERS AT SHEA&&num;8217&semi;S CASTLE<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Over the next five decades&comma; Shea’s Castle was owned by a succession of at least fifteen owners and renters&comma; some of which left a real mark on the castle&period; Possibly the most famous tenant was <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;en&period;wikipedia&period;org&sol;wiki&sol;Roy&lowbar;Rogers">Roy Rogers<&sol;a>&comma; the singing cowboy star of both TV and movies&period; He leased the property for a time&comma; training his famed horse&comma; Trigger&comma; at the property&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;3047" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-3047" class&equals;"wp-image-3047 size-full" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Roy-Rogers&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Roy Rogers" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"586" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-3047" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Roy Rogers<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Another notorious owner was millionaire playboy Tommy Stewart Lee&period; Tommy was the son of media magnate Don Lee&period; After Don died in 1934&comma; Tommy inherited &dollar;10 million in cash&comma; TV and radio stations&comma; and also a Cadillac dealership&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;3045" style&equals;"width&colon; 260px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-3045" class&equals;"wp-image-3045 size-full" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Tommy-Stewart-Lee&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Tommy Stewart Lee" width&equals;"250" height&equals;"313" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-3045" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Tommy Stewart Lee<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Tommy soon got to spending his inheritance by funding a racing career&period; He would also be seen hanging out in Hollywood nightspots with singers and movie stars such as Joan Crawford&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; in 1942 Tommy Lee wrecked his car&comma; smashing several vertebrae&period; The pain resulted in insomnia which later led to him being dependent on painkillers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 1947&comma; Tommy and his friends spotted Shea’s Castle while racing across the dry lake&period; Not long after&comma; Tommy Stewart Lee was the new owner&comma; he would use the castle as a hangout for fast-driving friends&comma; even adding an airstrip so they could fly in&period; The barn was also converted into a garage&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;3051" style&equals;"width&colon; 887px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-3051" class&equals;"wp-image-3051 size-full" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle-Airstrip&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle Airstrip" width&equals;"877" height&equals;"548" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-3051" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">The airstrip can be seen from this aerial photo&comma; with Shea&&num;8217&semi;s castle in the bottom right&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; not long after purchasing Shea’s Castle&comma; and still in pain from the crash all those years earlier&comma; Lee’s relatives and business partners had him declared mentally incompetent&period; Doctors would blame the painkillers he required&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Then in 1950&comma; with his mental state deteriorating&comma; Lee climbed the Pellissier Building on Wilshire Boulevard&comma; smoked a cigarette&comma; and then jumped from the fire escape at the top of the 12-story building&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;3048" style&equals;"width&colon; 490px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-3048" class&equals;"size-full wp-image-3048" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Pellissier-Building&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Pellissier Building" width&equals;"480" height&equals;"640" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-3048" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Pellissier Building&comma; where Lee would end his life&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">LATER OWNERSHIP OF SHEA&&num;8217&semi;S CASTLE<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>In 1964 the castle was purchased by Walter Gayner&comma; an Orange County developer who then sold it in June 1981 to the Iranian Group&period; From 1974 until 1985&comma; the property caretaker was Richard Delgado&comma; who brought in the Iranians but later sued them for fraud&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 1985&comma; the Sherman Oaks-based Genz Development bought the estate&period; The plan was for them to restore the lake&comma; install a golf course and divide the rest of the estate up into 120 large lots for luxury homes&period; However&comma; nothing came of those plans&comma; and the property was put back on the market&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">SHEA&&num;8217&semi;S CASTLE ON SCREEN<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Unsurprisingly&comma; Shea’s Castle has featured as the backdrop for a number of movies and TV shows&comma; including &&num;8220&semi;Blood of Dracula’s Castle&&num;8221&semi; &lpar;1967&rpar;&comma; &&num;8220&semi;Rat Patrol&comma;&&num;8221&semi; and &&num;8220&semi;Buffy the Vampire Slayer&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">SHEA&&num;8217&semi;S CASTLE TODAY<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>The private owners of the Shea’s Castle after Genz Development are hard to identify&semi; what we do know is the house was put on the market in 2011&comma; and then again in 2018 for just under &dollar;5 million&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3055" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle-Entrance&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle Entrance" width&equals;"700" height&equals;"525" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3058" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle-Living-Room&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle Living Room" width&equals;"700" height&equals;"441" &sol;><br &sol;>&NewLine;<img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3056" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Fireplace&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Fireplace" width&equals;"700" height&equals;"525" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3059" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Dining-Area&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Dining Area" width&equals;"700" height&equals;"467" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-3060" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;02&sol;Sheas-Castle-Rooftop&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Shea's Castle Rooftop" width&equals;"700" height&equals;"467" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Unfortunately&comma; very few good photos of Shea&&num;8217&semi;s Castle appear to exist&period; With the property being so isolated&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s even difficult to get exterior photos&comma; never mind interior shots&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; if you liked Shea&&num;8217&semi;s Castle&comma; you should check out <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;mystery-castle&sol;">Mystery Castle<&sol;a>&period; Mystery Castle is another castle in which someone chooses to move to a warmer climate and build a castle while suffering from health issues&period;&NewLine;

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