To Top

Day 11 – Mar. 30th: Phoenix’s Mystery Castle

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

<– Day 10 – Mar. 29th: Red Lobster or Bust — Day 2 of the FC Roundup | OVERVIEW | Day 12 Mar. 31st: Stagecoaches and a Glass Desert –>

1948-01-26-mystery-castle

The Mystery Castle as it appeared in Life Magazine in 1948.

On Sunday we didn’t do a whole lot, which was just fine with us. But, we did have one objective: To visit the Mystery Castle. Located just south of Phoenix, the Mystery Castle was built in the 1930s by Boyce Gulley. While living with his wife and daughter in Seattle, Boyce learned he had tuberculosis and was given six months to live. Without a word to them, he left. After wandering for a year, he discovered he wasn’t going to die. So, he settled down in Phoenix, got some free land south of the city, and built a castle for his daughter. His wife and daughter wouldn’t learn about the castle until after his death in 1945. When they arrived to take possession of the property, they were told that after living there two years, they could open up a mystery door….

On January 1, 1948, Life Magazine was there to cover the opening of the door. You can learn more about what they found by reading the January 26, 1948, issue of Life Magazine.

Here are some photos. You really have to see the place to understand it. If you like rustic and eclectic, this place is a must see:

2014-03-30-mysteryhouse7 2014-03-30-mysteryhouse6 2014-03-30-mysteryhouse5 2014-03-30-mysteryhouse4 2014-03-30-mysteryhouse1

Following our tour of the house, we got some food and headed for our motel. Tomorrow we will do a few touristy things around Phoenix.

<– Day 10 – Mar. 29th: Red Lobster or Bust — Day 2 of the FC Roundup | OVERVIEW | Day 12 Mar. 31st: Stagecoaches and a Glass Desert –>

 

6 Comments on “Day 11 – Mar. 30th: Phoenix’s Mystery Castle

  1. Mark S.

    Happy Birthday Ann! – Dave, the details of your trip are very entertaining, enjoy the rest of your tour and have a safe trip.

  2. Tom

    The Life ads were neat to see and the storys. My surprize to see a story about a Illinois farm neighbor about his cat . The ad with sausage over Lima beans made me sick just looking at it. 🙂

  3. Joe in Mesa

    Leave it to you to find such an amazing place in my own backyard that we’d never even heard of. Great story… and I’m sure you noticed the Wurlitzer ad, Dave: very cool.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe without commenting