Tired of waiting for the carnival to come to town to take a spin on the Ferris wheel? You’re in luck. A new listing in Jackson, California, comes with not one, but two of the amusement park staples.
Locals call the property, a turreted stone mansion with that carnival right in its front yard, Amador Castle. And yes, the rides — and a circus’s worth of aluminum animals — are included in the $3.99 million asking price.
“I grew up here, and every time we’d drive by when I was a kid, I’d want to go check it out,” said Allan Lee Veto III of Foundation Real Estate. “When I found out I got the listing, it was pretty surreal.”
The three-story custom-built crib is in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, 125 miles east of San Francisco. It was built in 1985 — hence the carpeted bathrooms — as a single-family residence. The original owner, a woman now in her 70s, still lives in the 8,500-square-foot fortress. It’s filled with antique furniture and enough knickknacks to keep the hosts of “Pawn Stars” happy for months.
“She’s accumulated quite a few things over the years,” said Veto, adding the owner is happy to negotiate if the buyer wants anything. “I don’t know where the hell she’s gonna put everything when she moves, to be honest. She’s definitely not on hoarding levels because she’s so clean and organized, but the amount of stuff she has because of how much space she has is crazy!”
Over the years, the home, which is co-owned by the original proprietor and a local couple, also served as party central. The bouncer at the turreted archway marking the entrance of the driveway? A larger-than-life-sized statue of Sasquatch.
“Every year for his birthday, one of the owners would have a huge blowout bash at the castle,” said Veto. “I’ve had realtors come in who were like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been here for parties, I was drunk and passed out over here.’ ”
The carnival rides were actually purchased for those parties — but they were never meant as a source of income. “He didn’t sell tickets or anything,” said Veto. “He’d just give the town something to talk about.” While they’re the first thing a potential buyer sees because you can’t see the house from the road, these days the rides are more of an afterthought.
“We couldn’t factor in how much the circus equipment was worth, so we didn’t really take it into consideration when we were pricing the property,” said Veto.
That said, his client told him he thinks he has at least half a million dollars invested in his mini-Coney Island. Beyond those two Ferris wheels, there’s a train ride, bumper cars — which his client says are always everyone’s favorite — and a ride called the Octopus.
“It goes up and down and the individual cars spin around,” explains Veto. “It’s a trip!” (For the less daring, the listing includes entertaining space on the back deck which, according to an aerial image, has no fewer than 10 tables and a separate bar area.)
Other highlights of the seven-bedroom, six-bathroom home, which was listed back in 2019 for $2.9 million, include an elevator and a 3,000-square-foot banquet room — complete with a commercial kitchen and a life-sized statue of Elvis. Holding court in the adjacent sitting area is a 6-foot-something pirate who looks a lot like Jack Sparrow with a little less eyeliner. The spacious bar, which seats 12, is decorated with some tasteful taxidermy and a tube TV circa 1996.
If you’re worried about bidding wars, don’t be. Despite a huge social media push and an open house, the 28-acre property hasn’t received any offers yet.
“We’re playing the long game right now,” said Veto. He has, however, had showings with local developers who like that it comes with four subdivided 5-acre parcels. “Four of the parcels already have wells and septic systems installed.”
In other words, there can be a real toilet nearby if you make the mistake of eating before riding the Octopus. Veto says all of the rides are operational — well, sort of.
“They have a woodpecker problem right now so the Ferris wheel seats are kind of messed up,” he said. “The owner says it happens every few years, so the new buyer will have to replace the seats.”
