Mystery Castle: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Structure in Phoenix, Arizona}}

[[File:Side of House (14242512188).jpg|right|thumb|250px|Mystery Castle]]

Their story attracted attention, giving the home some renown as well as its exotic name: A ''Life Magazine'' story (January 26, 1948) <ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p0gEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA117|title=Life Magazine|date=26 January 1948|accessdate=February 5, 2011}}</ref> used the headline "''Life'' Visits a Mystery Castle: A Young Girl Rules Over the Strange Secrets of a Fairy Tale Dream House in the Arizona Desert." The photograph featured Mary Lou posing atop the cantilever staircase leading to the roof of the house. That same year, Mary Lou and her mother began offering tours of the home.

Said to be held together by a combination of [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]], [[cement]], [[calcium]], and [[goat]] [[milk]], the sprawling 18-room, three story castle is built from a wide range of materials – [[Rock (geology)|stone]], [[adobe]], [[automobile]] parts, salvaged [[rail tracks]] from a [[Mining|mine]], [[telephone pole]]s, etc. It features a [[chapel]], [[bar (establishment)|cantina]], and a [[dungeon]]. Parts of the castle remain [[unfinished building|unfinished]], and [[electricity]] and [[plumbing]] weren't added until 1992. As the housing boom progressed in Phoenix, new development encroached close to the castle and its grounds, making it far less isolated.

Mary Lou Gulley died on November 3, 2010. The property is now maintained by the Mystery Castle Foundation, a [[501c3]] non-profit organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mymysterycastle.com/ |title=Home |website=mymysterycastle.com}}</ref>

Extensively vandalized on March 6, 2022, the Mystery Castle suffered an estimated $100,000 in damage. No arrests have been made.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/vandals-cause-extensive-damage-at-mystery-castle-near-south-mountain-suspects-wanted | title=Vandals cause 'extensive damage' to Mystery Castle near South Mountain; suspects wanted | date=6 March 2022 }}</ref> The Castle was temporarily closed for tours, but reopened on March 18, 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mymysterycastle.com/location-and-tours/ | title=Mystery Castle - Location and Tours }}</ref> Tours have since been suspended.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mymysterycastle.com/ | title=Mystery Castle - Location and Tours }}</ref>

|File:Mystery Castle (14242518270).jpg|Overview of the castle

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-Main Entrance.jpg|Main entrance

|File:Patio Area (14242635937).jpg|Patio

||The castle in 2023

||Staircase

|File:Exterior Wall Detail (14242514690).jpg|Exterior wall detail

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-10.jpg|One of eighteen rooms in the castle

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-9.jpg|Another room in the castle

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-1.jpg|Mary Lou Gulley's bedroom

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-5.jpg|Another bedroom in the castle

|File:Phoenix-Mystery Castle-7.jpg|A window which Gulley made with the spoke rim of an old car

* [[List of historic properties in Phoenix, Arizona]]

* [[Phoenix Historic Property Register]]

* [[Tovrea Castle]]

* [[El Cid Castle]]

* [[Bishop Castle]], a one-man construction project near Rye, Colorado.

* [[Coral Castle]], a one-man structure created by Latvian-American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin located in Florida,

==External links==

* [http://www.mymysterycastle.com/ Mystery Castle] – official site

* [http://www.rvtravelog.com/mcastle.dir/mcastle1.htm Article and photos]

* [http://digitalgirl1961.webs.com/phoenix/historic_sites/mystery_castle/mystery_castle.html Photos taken on Jan. 8, 2011]

* {{GNIS|14810}} – {{Coord|33.3583792|N|112.0632024|W|format=dms|source:GNIS|display=it}}

[[Category:Visionary environments]]