Pacifica’s Mazza Castle packed with sparkling art, Hollywood kitsch, occasional ghosts    

Jeanette Cool heads up an organization that keeps the 116-year-old Mazza Castle on a hill in Pacifica in good shape, open for tours and musical events.  

The CEO of the Sam Mazza Foundation has overseen the building’s considerable repair work since Sam Mazza bought it in 1959. 

Not only does Cool administer the foundation, she also has received an occasional ghostly visit. Once, while working at the castle, she heard “Jeanette!” called out—but the voice had no owner. 

It has been reported that a shadowy specter floated down the hall one night and disappeared. Knocks resounded on the door, but no one was there. “Watch it! Watch it,” cried a disembodied voice. 

While a team of ghost hunters detected paranormal activity there in 2010, tourists shouldn’t go expecting to be spooked. The spirits don’t arrive on schedule. The castle’s main attraction is Mazza’s wild collection of art from the last century and kitsch from Hollywood backlots. 

A Sicilian immigrant, Salvatore “Sam” Mazza was a painter and scene decorator for 20^th Century Fox. Applying gold leaf was his specialty. 

One fateful day in 1959, under the influence of a few gin fizzes, he was tooling around Pacifica with his soon-to-be-wife Mary and caught sight of the property high on a muddy hill. He bargained for it, paying $29,000 for a place that came to serve as, he said, “the place I put my junk.” 

His “junk” is a blinding array of the wonderful and the eclectic. He collected pieces from Hollywood studios, estate sales and auction houses. His brother Angelo, an importer, brought pieces from Europe.  

Among the items: Candelabra and sconces from the movies. Heavy Victorian furniture and musical instruments. Tapestries, statues and paintings. Weaponry and tea sets. Theatrical costumes and props. Stained glass windows, armor, swords and oriental carpets, tile with inlaid mother of pearl details. 

There’s a bed Clark Gable slept on in a movie and a cape he reportedly wore in a scene, as well as Sally Stanford’s bed from her brothel in Sausalito. 

Mazza was a bon vivant, and though he never lived in his castle, he enjoyed entertaining there. 

He kept collecting according to his whims and turned his castle into a place where celebrities, Hollywood royalty, socialites and politicians would be pleased to be seen and raise a drink or two. Or more. 

Today, 90-minute weekend tours of the castle are led by dedicated docents from the Pacifica Historical Society. Among them are Deidra and Jerry Crow, who outfit themselves in Edwardian dress as they educate visitors about every detail of the jam-packed rooms.  

A lot happened between the time the castle was built and the time Mazza bought it. 

The building dates to the early 1900s when Henry Harrison McCloskey, a San Francisco attorney for the Ocean Shore Land Company (and Railroad), was looking for a property where he and his wife would feel safe. In 1907, a year after San Francisco’s huge earthquake, he bought a plot on an incline in Pacifica. His terrified wife pleaded for a strong, indestructible and fireproof residence. They moved into the fortress-like, earthquake-resistant edifice in 1908. 

Situated on a 10,000-square-foot lot near majestic cedars, the 22-room structure, solidly built on concrete blocks and crowned with turrets, overlooks the ocean, offering staggering views. 

With a variety of owners over the decades, the castle attracted screeching headlines for the misdeeds of its occupants. 

In 1916, Dr. Galen Richard Hickok, with a fraudulent medical license, bought the place and operated a medical center. Years later, he and his son went to San Quentin prison for practicing abortions there. 

Several times during Prohibition, federal authorities raided the building, which was operating as restaurant and speakeasy called Chateau LaFayette. (Its coastal location made for easy access for rum running.) Well-equipped with bedrooms, it likely served as a brothel as well. Owner M.L. Hewitt, who bought the property in 1922, cared not a whit for the law and continued serving booze until his demise in 1924. 

During World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard leased the property to serve the war effort. Seventeen servicemen, each with a dog, were posted there.   

In the late 1950s, the site was a haven for artists.  

Mazza, who died in 2002 at 95, wealthy from real estate holdings, insured the castle’s legacy with the creation of his foundation, which also supports artistic endeavors. Upcoming music salons at the castle feature the Riffat Sultana Band on April 28 and the Dirty Cello Quartet on May 19.  

Mazza Castle tours are offered on various Saturdays and music salons are monthly at 900 Mirador Terrace, Pacifica. Tea service on Mother’s Day is at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 12. Tickets are $30 for tours, $45 for music and $60 for tea at sammazzafoundation.org.