A Castle in the Arizona Desert is in Peril, and Locals Are Trying to Save It
photo by: Bob Graham
An interior space in Mystery Castle.
When shoe salesperson Boyce Luther Gulley contracted tuberculosis in the late 1920s, he abruptly left his family in Seattle and made his way to Phoenix, hoping the dry climate might be curative. When he died in 1945, Gulley’s daughter, Mary Lou, hadn’t seen her father in years, but she would soon find out what he’d been up to. Without any formal training, Gulley had transformed local materials and salvaged objects into Mystery Castle, an 18-room, 7,000-square-foot structure in the foothills of Phoenix’s South Mountain Park. Mary Lou Gulley inherited the eclectic masterpiece and lived there with her mother, Frances Gulley, for decades. Before her death in 2010, Mary Lou formed the Mystery Castle Historical Foundation, which continued stewarding the site and offering tours.
But after a series of break-ins, Mystery Castle closed in 2023. A conditions assessment found that repairs, rehabilitation, and necessary upgrades will cost $3.3 million, a project far beyond the foundation’s means. As the organization hurries to find another entity that can save Mystery Castle, the site remains threatened.
In May 2025, the National Trust named Mystery Castle to its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Architect Bob Graham and historian Donna Reiner, who co-founded an advocacy group called Friends of Mystery Castle, believe the listing will bring much-needed public attention as the group grapples with what Mystery Castle could become. “The biggest question that still has to be answered is the end game,” says Graham. “What is this thing going to be?”
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