Appeal to block demolition of Steve Jobs' mansion dropped

Preservationists who for years have fought Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs and prevented him from demolishing an aging California mansion have finally thrown in the towel.

Steve Jobs has owned the Jackling house since 1984, and has been trying to raze the building and replace it with something more modern since 2001. But for years the group Uphold Our Heritage has attempted to preserve the house as a historical landmark.

The dispute seemed to be coming to an end in March, when a judge upheld a demolition permit for Jobs that was first approved in May 2009. This week, The Alamanac noted that Uphold Our Heritage had dropped its appeal of the permit.

The organization made the decision after Jobs reportedly did not respond to a proposal from two nearby Woodside, Calif., residents who offered to dismantle the house and move it about two miles away. The attorney for Uphold Our Heritage said it was a "really great proposal" in which the two residents offered to pay "a very large part of the relocation and restoration costs."

Jason and Magalli Yoho planned to live in the mansion and open it to the public once a year, but they needed Jobs to contribute financially to the moving of the house.

The sprawling mansion has 30 rooms, 14 bedrooms and 13-and-a-half bathrooms. Last year, AppleInsider posted an extensive photo gallery of the home, which was discovered by a photographer with its gates, windows and doors wide open.

In 2008, Jobs attempted to prove that it would cost $5 million more to restore the mansion than build his new home. The home was built in 1929 for copper mining mogul Daniel Jackling. Jobs bought the home in 1984 and lived in it for 10 years before renting it out. It has remained vacant since 2000.