mystery castle

When Aunt Erin was here for Thanksgiving, she took us on a little adventure to the Mystery Castle. It is a funky old adobe house made out of a lot of rocks, pottery, and other junk including telephone poles for ceiling beams and metal tire rims for windows.  The story behind it is actually very tragic. It was built from 1930 to 1945 by a man named Boyce Luther Gulley after he contracted tuberculosis in Seattle and left his wife and daughter.  He was only given months to live so he didn't tell them about his disease or where he was going.  He ended up living the next 15 years in Arizona building this "castle" for his daughter.  She didn't even know about it until he died, but she ended up moving in. She lived in it and gave tours until her death just last year.  My grandmother actually knew her and had taken us here when I was little, but I don't remember.  I have thought about taking Jimmy for awhile, but as usual it took my sister to get me motivated.The inside decor is cheesy (lots of cats and dolls), but the building is pretty amazing.

From the foothills of the South Mountains, it has a great view of downtown Phoenix.

The wishing well that went down to the saloon below.  You could use the dumbwaiter to order your drink.

The Spiral Staircase was immortalized on the cover of Life Magazine in 1948.

Thanks for a fun adventure Aunt Erin!