Bay Area Abundant with Mysteries
Travel Excursion
Rengstorff House, Photo by Ginny Kaminski
By Patrice
Raplee
If unusual and historical houses and buildings with a twist spark your
interest, consider California's Bay Area for your next adventure.
Victorian house museums and historical buildings with their often spooky
and past-owner eccentric histories are becoming popular with tourists.
The Bay Area has a wonderful array of historical structures and houses
that are odd and mysterious, as well as opulent.
The most famous Victorian mansion is the Winchester Mystery House,
located in San Jose. Heiress Sarah L. Winchester began construction
on the mansion in 1884 and kept building until her death 38 years later.
The 160-room Winchester House has staircases that lead nowhere, cupboard
doors that open to sealed walls, reputed ghosts and a history so eerie,
it'll raise goose bumps.
The Blue Lady haunts the Moss Beach Distillery by Half Moon Bay. NBC's
popular TV series Unsolved Mysteries aired the story. Noted Bay
Area psychic, Sylvia Browne conducted several séances at the
distillery to determine why the Blue Lady spectral roams the beach softly
calling out.
Not all of the Bay Area historical houses and buildings are haunted;
however, they do have unusual stories and circumstances surrounding
their existence. One such mansion, (the oldest house in the city) is
the Rengstorff House in Mountain View. Originally built in 1867 by
Henry Rengstorff, the mansion sat just one mile from the south end of
the bay.
Rengstorff arrived in California from Germany with just four dollars
in his pocket. Nevertheless, he persevered and ultimately, he owned
several farms, 2000 acres and a major shipping port. In '59, the house
passed out of the family and in only 20 years, it ended up a vandalized
shell. In the '80s, the city of Mountain View saved the house from
demolition by moving it to a temporary location and then finally, to
its current location, exactly one mile from where it was originally
built. Several interesting tales and facts about the Rengstorff family,
(especially the tragic death of daughter Elise's fiancée) are
available through the mansion's docents.
This Italianate house with a widow's walk and foliage-covered pergola
is completely restored and breathtakingly beautiful. Victorian gardens
filled with fragrant old-fashioned roses surround the house and overlook
a golf course and salt water sailing lake. Inside the 12-room mansion,
antiques and wall photographs demonstrate life as it was for the residents
of the era. The children's writing table in the library is a reminder
of how differently kids spend their free time today. In addition, the
lack of a bathroom is the ultimate reminder that no matter how fancy
a mansion may be, the out-house and chamber pot were still the only
viable option 130 years ago.
There are over 30 Bay Area historical house museums to visit. Each
house is beautiful and unique and all have intriguing stories to match.
For more information visit www.r-house.org
For more information on the Winchester Mystery House, visit www.winchestermysteryhouse.com
For more information on the Moss Beach Distillery Restaurant, visit
www.mossbeachdistillery.com
HOME
|
