Sprawling 18-room, three story castle built from a wide range of materials including stone, adobe, automobile parts, salvaged rail tracks and telephone poles
General Information
Closed June–September and on major holidays
Children (5–12): $5
Cash or check only
Tempe, AZ (10 mi)
Scottsdale, AZ (15 mi)
Closed during summer due to heat
How to Get There
From Phoenix (11mi) Get on I-10 E. Continue on I-10 E. Drive from AZ-202Loop E to Tempe. Take exit 6 from AZ-202Loop E. Take W Washington St and N Mill Ave to trailhead.
Overview
Mystery Castle is a quirky, sprawling 18-room desert “castle” in the foothills of South Mountain Park in Phoenix, built from stone, adobe, salvaged rails, car parts and other found materials. It features a chapel, cantina and dungeon, and is now open for tours. The Mystery Castle Foundation maintains it, and Phoenix has named it a Point of Pride.
Boyce Luther Gulley began building it in the 1930s for his daughter Mary Lou after moving from Seattle when he learned he had tuberculosis. After he died in 1945, Mary Lou and her mother inherited the property and moved in. A 1948 Life magazine story gave it its name, and Mary Lou gave tours until her death in 2010.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mystery Castle", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
