Inside the fight to protect Mystery Castle, Phoenix’s most enigmatic piece of folk architecture
As its name suggests, Phoenix’s Mystery Castle evokes more questions than answers. An aura of the unknown permeates the whimsical structure, an eclectic mix of native rock and repurposed materials that one man began building at the base of South Mountain during the Great Depression. What is crystal clear about the building, however, is its significance, according to Robert Graham, principal architect at Motley Design Group.
“Mystery Castle is on a par with any other work of architecture in the state—in a class with Taliesin West, Arcosanti, the Arizona Biltmore, Riordan Mansion and Mary Colter’s work at the Grand Canyon and La Posada,” Graham declares…