Rubel Castle

Rubel Castle

Rubel Castle (also known as Rubelia) was established in Glendora, California, by Michael Clarke Rubel (April 16, 1940-October 15, 2007).^[1] It has been called "a San Gabriel Valley version of Watts Towers.”^[2]

Rubel purchased a 2 ½ acre citrus orchard on which the structure resides in 1959. He and his friends completed construction in 1986. Rubelia is considered the first major recycling project in the United States, according to David Traversi, who authored One Man's Dream: The Spirit of the Rubel Castle.^[3]

Rubel Castle was constructed partly out of concrete, but also out of scrap steel, rocks, bedsprings, coat hangers, bottles and other pieces of junk that Rubel found.

Background

Michael Rubel on his porch, 2000.

In 1959, Rubel bargained for the defunct Albourne Rancho property and took up residence in the huge citrus packing house, which he renamed “Rubel Pharm.” Rubel's father, Henry "Heinz" Scott Rubel, had been an Episcopalian minister and gag writer for radio comedians.^[2] In the 1960s, Michael’s mother, one-time Ziegfeld Follies dancer Dorothy Deuel Rubel, moved into the packing house with her son. At 200 feet (61 m) long it was the perfect venue for her favorite hobby: parties. Well-dressed guests arrived weekly by the hundreds, strolling past old tractors, horses, poultry, buggies, and the gritty accouterments of the bucolic rancho period, to arrive inside a tin fruit packing house transformed into a giant dance hall. Inside, surrounded by art and antique furniture remaining from Rubel ancestors, they mingled in the smudge oil and orange blossom atmosphere and danced to a small orchestra.

Sally Rand, the silent screen actress and fan dancer, famous since the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, never missed Dorothy Rubel’s parties, which were so extravagant that the packing house became known as “The Tin Palace.” Other people of note who came to the Tin Palace in those days include Dwight Eisenhower, the Duncan Sisters, Woody Strode, Beatrice Kay, Harry Townes, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Kid Chissell, Angie Dickinson, and Alfred Hitchcock. Fellow castle builder "Colonel" Jirayr Zorthian was a supporter and friend.

Construction of the castle

An orange crate label from Rubel Farms.

Though Michael slept in one of the giant citrus refrigerators, the walls of thick cork were not sufficient sound insulation to allow him peace from his mother’s parties. In 1968 Michael fired up his cement mixer and, with a pile of discarded champagne bottles, began building himself a small get-away house in the center of his empty old 16-million gallon concrete reservoir. The high walls of the reservoir provided privacy and a noise barrier while he built his bottle house. Thus began a building spree that lasted twenty years, culminating in what is now called the Rubel Castle.

He began adding material to an existing metal water tower.^[4] With the encouragement of old timers like Odo Stade, and with the help of many friends and relations, the castle grew to be thousands of square feet with towers five stories high. Rubel and his associates built the structure without architectural plans, utilizing salvaged river rock, cement, steel, aluminum, telephone poles and wine bottles.^[2] Old motorcycles, tires, sand-filled rubber gloves, a camera, a golf club and a toaster are some of the items that protrude from the castle.^[2]

A restored 1896 Seth Thomas clock works runs the brass bells and clock that crown one of the high towers, which is 74 feet (23 m) high. In the middle of the property sit a 1940s-era Santa Fe caboose, as well as old trucks and tractors. There is also a cemetery with rejected marble tombstones (but no graves).^[2]

In addition, “chickens are abundant and love this property as well as frequent animal visitors.”^[4]

Legacy

Over the decades, Rubel Castle has instilled a work ethic in hundreds of young people and stands as a celebration of the independent spirit. Huell Howser interviewed Michael Rubel for Videolog in 1990.^[5]

Like a true castle, it has hosted royalty including Prince Philip. Some other notable guests have been Henry Kissinger, the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, and Governor George Deukmejian.

In March, 2005, Michael gave Rubel Castle to the Glendora Historical Society.

Gallery

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  Clock Tower

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  Cannons

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  Entrance to Rubelia

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  Mailbox

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  Flag

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  Panorama

See also

• Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect with a similar style, particularly La Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
• Hermit House, a unique residence located in Herzliya, Israel with intricate mosaics constructed by one man over thirty years.
• Mystery Castle, a house in Phoenix, Arizona built in the 1930s in a similar style.
• Nitt Witt Ridge, a house in Cambria, California constructed in a similar style.
• Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman who constructed an "ideal palace" out of rocks in his spare time.

References

1. ^ Michael Clark Rubel
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rasmussen, Cecelia (December 30, 2007), "Trash was turned into a treasure at Rubel Castle", Los Angeles Times: B2, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-then30dec30,1,3390521.story?coll=la-headlines-california 
3. ^ http://www.invitesite.com/pharm/traversi_book.html “One Man’s Dream; The Spirit of Rubel Castle.
4. ^ ^{a b} Lynda Siminske, “A Castle In Our Town...”, San Gabriel Valley Examiner, March 20–26, 2008, p. 1.
5. ^ Glendora, CA - Huell Howser Videolog: Rubel's Castle

External links

• Rubel Castle - information on tours
• “One man's trash was treasure for Rubelia Castle,” Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2007
• Huell Howser Videolog: Rubel's Castle
• The Shriek: A newsletter of Rubel Castle
• Rubel Pharm
• Rubelia, building and other adventures for dummies

Coordinates: 34°9′1.47″N 117°51′16.35″W / 34.1504083°N 117.8545417°W / 34.1504083; -117.8545417