Rispin Mansion in Capitola

Here is some background history to the great Rispin Mansion, I just happened to stumble across it while I was driving around.
When Capitola's owner F.A.Hihn died in 1913, his daughter, Katherine Cope Henderson, put the resort up for sale. H. Allen Rispin, a wealthy San Franciscan, bought it at the end of World War I. Although he had grand plans to develop "Capitola by-the-Sea," Rispin overextended himself and was broke by 1928. He lost his elaborate 22-room mansion and most of his holdings in 1930-31. This picture was taken after the Rispin home had been sold to Burlingame millionnaire Robert Hays Smith. The Smith family ran into financial problems during The Great Depression and surrendered the mansion in 1939. It was then sold to the Catholic Church for use as a convent by the Order of Poor Clares. The nuns resided at the complex until 1957. The mansion has since been vacant of permanent residents, and is now owned by the City of Capitola.

This article also goes through the possible renovation, it's about 10 years old and has yet to materialize.

A quick google search revealed these guys did some spelunking just a bit before I did.
UrbEx Rispin Mansion Part 1
UrbEx Rispin Mansion Part 2

But anyways, back to my story.
This is the location of the Rispin Mansion. I would recommend parking at the Capitola Library (Black Triangle). There is a walking path represented by the Green Dot that will lead you down a hill to a busted fence just pop through there and then you are at the Mansion (Red X). If they've fixed the wooden fence there are a couple of holes in the perimeter fence just keep checking. If they've patched all the holes, climbing never hurt anyone.




This place is absolutely gorgeous. It is definitely my favorite find as of this moment. From far away it just looks like another run down building but up close with the vegetation slowly engulfing the concrete it is magnificent.




I basically circle around the exterior of the building and snap a couple interior shots from holes in the boarded up windows. Stay tuned, more to come!