Henry Allen Rispin's 1921 22-room showpiece sat empty for decades, burned in 2009, and was investigated by Ghost Adventures in 2025 — now entombed inside Capitola's newest park.
2000 Wharf Rd, Capitola, CA 95010
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The surrounding grounds are now The Park at Rispin Mansion, open to the public. The mansion itself is sealed and not accessible.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Park grounds along Soquel Creek. Flat to gently sloping. Paved paths accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1921 · National Register of Historic Places (1991, #91000286) · Henry Allen Rispin — Capitola founding developer · Oblates of St. Joseph convent 1930s–1959 · 2009 fire destroyed 75% of interior · Now The Park at Rispin Mansion (opened 2024)
Henry Allen Rispin arrived in Capitola in the early twentieth century and became one of the central figures in developing the town. In 1921, he commissioned a four-story, 22-room mansion at a site along Soquel Creek — designed in Mission/Spanish Revival style, with over 7,100 square feet on 6.5 acres — intended not as a family home but as a demonstration of the quality of life available in his Capitola real estate developments.
Rispin's financial collapse during the Great Depression forced him to relinquish the property by 1931. His business partner Robert Hays Smith acquired it through foreclosure. The Oblates of St. Joseph subsequently operated the property as a convent from the 1930s through 1959. After the religious community departed, the building entered a long period of vandalism and deterioration.
The City of Capitola purchased the property in 1985 for $1.35 million and used the grounds as a SWAT training area. The city later planned a boutique hotel conversion that never materialized. In 2009, a fire destroyed approximately 75 percent of the interior — tile ceilings, wood floors, and wooden structural supports were lost. The city invested $648,850 in stabilization, and a 2012 Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters investigation was authorized by the city. The National Register of Historic Places listed the mansion on March 14, 1991 (Reference Number 91000286).
In 2024, construction began on The Park at Rispin Mansion, converting the 5.7-acre grounds along Soquel Creek into a public park while leaving the mansion itself sealed and permanently inaccessible.
Sources
The Rispin Mansion began acquiring a paranormal reputation during its long post-convent abandonment period, when the building was accessible to urban explorers and local teenagers. The combination of deteriorating Mission Revival architecture, documented fire damage, and isolated creek-side grounds created the conditions for local ghost legend.
The Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters received official permission from the City of Capitola to conduct a midnight investigation and filming at the mansion. After that 2012 session, the city sealed the building. According to the Ghost Adventures television production, sealing an active site can intensify paranormal activity — the show used this framing when the team gained access for their 2025 episode.
The Ghost Adventures episode titled 'Mystery of Rispin Mansion' aired May 14, 2025, on Discovery Channel, with the crew including Zak Bagans, Billy Tolley, Aaron Goodwin, and Jay Wasley investigating the sealed property. The episode is available on Discovery+ and Max. No named historical spirits or specific documented deaths have been attached to the property in primary sources; the haunting tradition draws primarily from the building's architectural decay, its convent history, and the fire.
Media Appearances
Walk the 5.7-acre park grounds along Soquel Creek and view the fire-damaged exterior of the 1921 Mission Revival mansion, now permanently sealed. The park opened in 2024 and includes a pedestrian-bicycle bridge connection.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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