Arizona's Mystery Castle

Castles are made for princesses, and the Mystery Castle of Phoenix is certainly no exception. Built in the 1930s by a dying father to honor his “little princess”, Mystery Castle sits at the foot of South Mountain, in an area once adjacent to the town dump. As a result, the recycled building materials and scavenged rocks used during construction have led to one of the city’s more curious buildings, made even more so by the fact that the original princess for whom it was built continues to live there, some seventy years later.

A Labor of Love.

Mystery Castle was the idea of Boyce Gulley, a Seattle native who came to the Arizona desert to escape the endless pain of tuberculosis. After being diagnosed in 1929, Gulley worried about the suffering his family would endure as a result of his illness, and more specifically, how his death would traumatize his daughter, Mary Lou. Seeing no other answer, he left without warning in the middle of the night and made his way to the arid heat of Arizona. Remembering the sand castles he built with his daughter, and her frustration at having the pulsing tide of the Pacific wash them away time after time, Gulley set out to build Mary Lou a castle that would last forever.

Using collected stones, rusted automobile parts, abandoned railway lines and whatever else he could scavenge from the town dump, Gulley began constructing what later became known as Mystery Castle. He fully anticipated dying before he finished the castle, but death eluded him for another sixteen years. As a result, when the family received word of his passing in 1945, Mary Lou was young woman of eighteen when she first learned of her Castle of Love. She and her mother moved in later that year.

Interesting Castle Construction.

Due to the nature of the building materials, Mystery Castle is an eclectic structure that gives the appearance of having always been part of the desert landscape. Native rock and abandoned artifacts from around the region make the architectural style difficult to classify. There are floating staircases of stone and many of the recycled boulders contain original hieroglyphics from the desert’s indigenous people. Interestingly, the interior of the castle contains both a chapel and a tavern. The castle displays 13 fireplaces in just 18 rooms and the pump organ found downstairs in the grotto is reported to have once belonged to Elsie, the colorful widow of Tombstone who buried six husbands in Boot Hill.

While Boyce Gulley appeared to be somewhat adept at structural engineering, plumbing and electrical wiring were not his specialties and consequently, the house lacked modern conveniences up until the 1960s. Still remaining on the property are some remnants of those early days, particularly candle and torch holders and the bright pink outhouse known to Mary Lou as “Pinky.”

Visiting Mystery Castle.

Mary Lou Gulley continues to live in the home and will on occasion offer personal tours. However due to her age, docents for the most part lead visitors through the catacomb-like rooms and around the grounds. Cost for the one hour tour is just $5 and the mansion is open Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. during the cooler months of October through June.

Getting to Mystery Castle.

Mystery Castle is located at 800 E. Mineral Road, at the base of South Mountain. From downtown Phoenix take I-10 south to Baseline Road. Head west to 16th Street and turn left. Travel a little over a mile to Dobbins Road and turn right. After you pass the Vista Golf Club on your left you will approach 7th Street. Turn left and drive one block to Mineral Road and Mystery Castle.