Steve Jobs Gets to Knock Down His House After All

Preservationists have abandoned their battle to save a Jazz Age summer home owned by Steve Jobs from demolition.

The Apple CEO, who has owned the historic home since 2001, wants to replace the 14-bedroom Spanish Colonial Revival structure with a newer, smaller dwelling.

Local preservationists sought to block Jobs from demolishing the home, which was designed by the architect George Washington Smith, whose style ideas were popular in California. He built the house for the copper magnate Daniel C. Jackling in 1926.

In December 2004, the town council in Woodside, Calif. voted 4-3 to let Jobs demolish the mansion. Local preservationists, who filed an appeal after a county superior judge granted Jobs a permit, now say they are giving up the fight. Speaking with a local paper, The Almanac, an attorney for the group, Uphold Our Heritage, said the decision was taken after Jobs ignored a proposal to dismantle the house and move it a couple of miles from its current location.

It was "a really great proposal" said the attorney, Doug Carstens. He added that "a very large part of the relocation and restoration costs" would have been shouldered by the Woodside residents who offered the proposal.

Jobs was quoted in 2004 saying of Jackling: "He was a very wealthy man. Unfortunately, he didn't have very good taste." He described the house as "poorly built," noting that "it was never really a very interesting house to start with."