One Man's Dream: The Spirit of the Rubel Castle

by David C. Traversi

This is a creative non-fiction work that relates the tale of a magical castle built in the midst of an elegant residential neighborhood of Glendora, California. It was created by a man who had the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097445320X
• ISBN13: 9780974453200
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: David C. Traversi dba Strange Publications
• Length: 211 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Rubel Castle is One of My Childhood Memories

I grew up in Glendora California where Micheal's castle was part of life here. Michael went to the local Episcopal Church and through that I got to know him. Eventually, when I was old enough I would go play there, wander around the fantasy acres and swim in the tree house water tank pool. Rubel Castle is one of my fondest memories. Yes this place is very, very real. It was a dream land for some of us and home to others. I had an english teacher who lived in the "tree house" and would often help out around the Castle creating some of the art or just cleaning up. One year we had horrific mud slides after a long rain storm. During one of the slides a boulder slid down the mountian and landed on top of a fountial Michael built in the back yard. As was so often the case, many of us rallied around Michael and the residents of the Castle to clean up, shovel mud and wash things out; bringing the Castle back to life. I have many many fond memories of the Castle and am so glad I found this opportunity share my little bit of joy. Please read, enjoy and recommend this book to all who care about whimsey, and places made for smiles.

Hail Rubelia!

I had long-since heard rumors of a so-called "satanic church" somewhere up in the hills of Glendora, California. Rumors ran from 'it' being a former convent turned coven house, to a full-fledged temple. Descriptions of a large clock tower with 'satanic symbols' on it, people disappearing, etc. pervaided the urban legend. The sources were dubious as were the claims. Then one day, an acquaintance asked Me if I wanted to go see a 'castle' located somewhere in this suburban location, so what the Hell, I was game. Upon arriving curbside, seemingly overshadowed by thick foliage and draping trees, a 'tower' comprised completely of grey stones juts up beyond a very nice gate made of pointed barbs some way from the driveway. Climbing halfway up a tree reveals sharpened glass cemented into the wall, that anyone attempting to climb into this world would be rightfully skewered on its jagged points; also viewable from this vantage point were a couple of roofs therein, one with a stylized weathervane. Turns out the 'satanic symbols' on the clocktower were actually metal figures of a cow at 3 o' clock, a pig at 6 o' clock, a rooster at 9 o' clock, and a horse at 12 o' clock. There is also a bell tower with a clock on it, but no 'satanic' symbols to be found. Ironically, Rubelia is far more de-facto Satanic that ever suspected. So it actually did exist - a castle in the fetters of this unassuming city, so I was curious to learn more about its history and the owner. Upon investigation, I found that this estate was the brainchild of one Micheal Clarke Rubel, an eccentric gentleman who began its construction in the Noir Era, son to equally eccentric Henry Scott Rubel and Deuel Rubel, as the photo will attest. Lacking the enormous funds required to erect a castle from scratch, Mr. Rubel began to amass materials from every conceivable source possible, from river rocks collected from local mountains, to steel girders and bridges linking the towers together into which one can pass through, to donated lumber and many useful knickacks. With the help of "pharm hands" [sic], his dream began to manifest until its final form was created in what stands to this day. Just recently, Mr. Rubel donated the property to the city's historical society, that it may be appreciated by those interested in such intriguing arcana, and is currently hosting tours. A local school was admitted within on June 5th {6/6/6 Eve} of this year, and more recently on Halloween, the gates were opened for trick or treaters wherein apples were dispensed by a man in a turn-of-the-19th century train conductor's uniform. An outfit not surprising, considering there is an actual caboose on site through which one may pass, a trapezoidal water tower framing the inner entrance, brick staircases, a drawbridge, as well as several etzels, a 'bottle house' {comprised of antique bottles cemented into the walls, upon whose surface sunlight creates an etherial glow inside the gloomy edifice}, and even a ramshackle '

A great book about an amazing place

If you have a dream and its amazing enough, people will help you. This book chronicles one such dream, the making of Rubel Castle, and it's founder Mike Rubel.This book does an excellent job of capturing something of the spirit of the place and its founder, with its pictures, quotes from the builders, and interviews with Mike. The castle is about humor, whimsy and how hard work and good people can do most anything.