Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Castle Green, Pasadena, Ca

"There have been door knobs that turned when no one was in the hall, shadows passing under the doors, footsteps heard, faucets turned on in some apartments, heavy perfume smells and chains rattling. Some apartments are said to be more haunted than others."

I know an individual that lived in this building that is a credible witness to many paranormal incidences here in this structure. He lived on the top floor adjacent to the grand ballroom inside this maze of apartments. On many occasions he would hear a shuffled set of footsteps approaching his door, and then stopping outside his door. No sounds could be heard after. Also sometimes he would feel the steps and tweaking of floorboards come inside his room, when he went to look around; nobody could be found. He said this building is very haunted.

"The castle was built at the end of the 19th century as a retreat for rich Easterners, seeking a break from snow or a sun light cure of their Victorian maladies, fainting, fevers, "sadnesses" (the "depression" of the era) and prolonged invalid states. They came in droves by rail (trains), when rail was elegant and an adventure in itself. Some people were cured and eventually made their lives in California, but some people were not and despite its luxury, languished and died in Castle Green. In addition to the ill, those now permanently on vacation at Castle Green, we have tales of tragedy. A servant boy crushed in the downstairs laundry apparatus. One can still see the machinery that killed him today. Ironically they've placed the new laundry room at the site of the old, and people claim to hear whispers as they're permanent pressing their pants. We can't have washers and dryers in our own apartments (what were once the hotel suites), so everyone does their laundry downstairs. That's where the gossip takes place."- Rebecca "Tales of Castle Green. blogspot"

 "The Castle Green Apartments that stand on Raymond Avenue in historic old town Pasadena were built in 1887 and officially opened to the public in 1889, however this wasn't the first portion of the Green empire. The first portion of the hotel complex that sits on the southwest corner of Raymond Avenue and Green Street with its hand cut granite facing, bay windows and retail space, was known as the Webster Hotel. Mr. Webster became nearly bankrupt while trying to finish his lavish hotel in time for its opening. It opened its doors to the public in the 1880s and was only open a few months before he sold it to Mr. Green, who finished the construction and changed its name to the Hotel Green. Green soon felt the need for another building as an annex to house the hundreds of guests who came to the resort town of Pasadena. The second building could be built near the railroad depot and property was available. Soon construction was underway and the six-story complex was built of wood. Pasadena was one of the most famous resort communities in Southern California during these times and a place for those suffering from tuberculosis. Doctors advised patients to go to dry and warmer climates and Pasadena became a boom town for snowbirds, those who desired a warmer climate during the harsh winters back east. The second building stood on the southeast corner of Raymond Avenue and Green Street and was a huge success when it opened in the mid 1870s. Green soon saw the advantage of building a more permanent residence within his hotel empire and a third building was designed and underway in 1887 as apartments, where those who wished to could rent for a week or a year or longer. The building has distinctive exterior elements in the Mediterranean Revival style and several interior spaces in the Moorish Revival style. It was decided that a bridge could be built over Raymond Avenue to annex the Castle Green Apartments or the new Hotel by visitors or long renting guests with easier access between the two buildings."

 "The Castle Green Apartments were built of concrete and rebar for sturdier construction. Both had large ballrooms and dining rooms, a gentleman's smoking salon, a woman's salon, foyers, crystal chandeliers, a grand staircase in Cararra marble and the finest wrought and cast iron made for each of the buildings. Pasadena had 14 resort hotels by 1900, but the Hotel Green complex was one of the most famous and well patronized. Sitting across the street from Central Park with its rose gardens, fountains, paths, a zoo, lion and alligator and ostrich farms and a place for both locals and visitors to enjoy themselves. In the mid 1920s, the second hotel, built of wood, suffered a fire when a guest fell asleep with a lit cigar, catching the drapes and furniture on fire in the first floor smoking parlor. Evidence of the damage can still be seen on the square columns at the top where the plaster melted from the heat and the water from the fire hoses."

"The building was heavily damaged and a few people died. The building sat derelict until the 1935 Long Beach Earthquake, which brought more of it down; it was decided to tear the wooden building down completely. The only original portion sits on the corner facing Green Street and is used as the Christmas tree room for the decorating store Stats, which has owned the building since the 1960s. A tunnel runs from the old wooden Hotel Green under Raymond Avenue and connects to the earliest portion of the hotel and the apartments."

Some of the Information about Castle Green quoted from this blogspot  http://talesofcastlegreen.blogspot.com/




5 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm honored you used a passage from my blog. May I hit you up for a credit/link from it? There are some bad things of a non-spiritual nature (though the ghosts may rise up and hurl) going on at Castle Green currently, and I'd like to draw people's attention to them.

    Thanks,
    Rebecca
    http://talesofcastlegreen.blogspot.net

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    Replies
    1. I posted a link to your blog! Sorry I didn't post a link earlier. This blog isn't used for profit, just for personal enjoyment!

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  2. You gave me too much credit. Only this paragraph is mine. :)

    "The castle was built at the end of the 19th century as a retreat for rich Easterners, seeking a break from snow or a sun light cure of their Victorian maladies, fainting, fevers, "sadnesses" (the "depression" of the era) and prolonged invalid states. They came in droves by rail (trains), when rail was elegant and an adventure in itself. Some people were cured and eventually made their lives in California, but some people were not and despite its luxury, languished and died in Castle Green. In addition to the ill, those now permanently on vacation at Castle Green, we have tales of tragedy. A servant boy crushed in the downstairs laundry apparatus. One can still see the machinery that killed him today. Ironically they've placed the new laundry room at the site of the old, and people claim to hear whispers as they're permanent pressing their pants. We can't have washers and dryers in our own apartments (what were once the hotel suites), so everyone does their laundry downstairs. That's where the gossip takes place.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would like to add to this. I am an English guy. I used to work for Dreamworks and lived at the Castle Green between 1995 and January 2000. I never really thought about ghosts or spirituality in general. In the time i lived there, i can say, i loved the building, ambiance and the history of the building as well as the distinctive architecture. From the moment i moved in many strange things happened there but i never felt threatened until one night i locked my apartment to go to bed (my apartment had no doors except the bathroom door. Less than ten minutes later as i lay there i heard footfall in the corridor outside. It stopped outside my door, then i heard the handle being turned several times. I thought someone had made a mistake and waited for them to leave since it was locked. Shortly after i heard my door open. Since i only locked it minutes ago i knew it was locked, yet clearly the unoiled hinges had opened. As i lay there i froze, it was terrifying!i waited but couldn't even bring myself to look at the curtain across the bedroom door; i knew i would be able to see through it and i couldn't look. it went quiet for seconds then whatever/whoever it was walked toward the centre of the room, my coffee table and worse my bedroom. I heard the footsteps stop by my coffee table then the sound of a piece of sculpture topple off the table, then it went silent. Still i was frozen with fear. The footsteps retreated toward the bathroom diagonally opposite. i had a motion activated chinese bird in a cage in there that had been turned off for a week at the request of my cleaner, and it started to twitter, then nothing, it was like it just disappeared. I am telling this now for the first time after reading this blog because for the first time i feel that i am not crazy. The experiences here are as real as my own and carbon copies of my own experience. This happened just one time btw.

    ReplyDelete