{{Short description|Structure in Phoenix, Arizona}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} right|thumb|250px|Mystery Castle
'''Mystery Castle''' is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. After learning he had tuberculosis, Gulley moved from Seattle to the Phoenix area and began building the house from found or inexpensive materials. Boyce Gulley died in 1945, and Mary Lou and her mother were notified by attorney that they had inherited the property. Shortly after, the mother and daughter moved in.
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.
==Construction== Said to be held together by a combination of mortar, cement, calcium, and goat milk, the sprawling 18-room, three story castle is built from a wide range of materials – stone, adobe, automobile parts, salvaged rail tracks from a mine, telephone poles, etc. It features a chapel, cantina, and a dungeon. Parts of the castle remain unfinished, and electricity and plumbing were not 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 and the property has since been 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>
The Mystery Castle has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phoenix.gov/ARTS/pridepts.html|title=Phoenix Points of Pride|accessdate=October 18, 2006|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001123029/http://phoenix.gov/ARTS/pridepts.html|archivedate=October 1, 2006}}</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>
==Gallery==
{{Gallery |width=180px |height=200px |align=center |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 }}
==See also== {{Portal|Arizona}} * 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, {{clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Mystery Castle (Phoenix, Arizona)}} * [http://www.mymysterycastle.com/ Mystery Castle] – official site * [http://phoenix.about.com/od/attractionsandevents/ss/mysterycastle.htm Article and photos with contact information about the Mystery Castle] * [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}} {{PhxPoP}}
Category:Landmarks in Arizona Category:Museums in Phoenix, Arizona Category:Phoenix Points of Pride Category:Houses in Phoenix, Arizona Category:Castles in the United States Category:Historic house museums in Arizona Category:1930s establishments in Arizona Category:Visionary environments in the United States Category:1920s architecture in the United States