Campaign Kickoff!

PACIFICA’S “MYSTERY” CASTLE
Pacifica’s Castle is the direct result of the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Shortly after the quake the great grandfather of Pete McCloskey, former Congressman, built a one-of-a-kind fortress of safety for his family hoping it would survive the next earthquake. History notes in the early 1920’s, during Prohibition, it was a haven for bootleggers and rumrunners and frequently raided by the local sheriffs. In the late 1920’s it was an illegal hospital where abortions were performed. Then it was renamed the Chateau Lafayette, a lively roadhouse that was repeatedly shut down for selling illegal booze. It sat neglected and shabby and no one seemed to care until Sam Mazza, a S.F. painting contractor, became fascinated with the Castle’s history and purchased it in 1957 for $29,000. One of Sam’s commissions was the old Fox theater on Market Street in S.F. and he filled the Castle with movie palace memorabilia and antiques.