Villa Montezuma

"The Villa Montezuma is a magnificent Queen Anne Victorian mansion located in the Sherman Heights Historic District just off the 5 freeway, near downtown San Diego, California.
On the National Register of Historic Places, the Villa Montezuma, aka the Jesse Shepard House, was built in 1887 by master architects Comstock and Trotsche.
Jesse Shepard came to San Diego after touring the royal courts of Europe during his career as a musician.
While in San Diego he built the Villa Montezuma and began a new career as an author under the pen name Francis Grierson."
Source - Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO)

What is not mentioned in the blurb above is that the house has been closed to the public since 2006, and that several attempts to re-open it have been mismanaged by various "organizations".
Also it has been vandalized and burglarized repeatedly and is in dire need of renovation.