Reel Life has been fortunate to acquire a 3 year option to produce a documentary that will tell the story of Boyce Gulley and his Phoenix Mystery Castle. The Mystery Castle is a Phoenix Point of Pride and is listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register. Our Interest is in visually preserving the story of the Mystery Castle and o showcasing the innovative, facinating man Boyce Gulley was. A percentage of our production funds will go towards the Mystery Castle Foundation's preservation fund.
While living in Seattle, Boyce spent many hours reading tales of princesses in castles to his daughter, MaryLou. In 1930 he was diagnosed with TB and up and left his family so as not to burden them with his illness. He ended up in Phoenix and began a 16 year labor of love to build his daughter her dream castle. On his deathbed in 1945 he sent his daughter a letter telling her about the castle and why he left. The 18 room castle employs architectural ideas that parallel green building and he made frequent use of recycled and salvaged materials such as clinker bricks discarded by the local brickyards. He often worked with local native americans on design concepts and traveled to Mexico collecting memorabilia that he would then build into the castle. Upon his death MaryLou and her mother traveled to Arizona and moved in to the castle to make it their home.
Over the years the castle has been visited by many well-known people such as Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. It houses a history of wild west stories and still sits on South Mountain now surrounded by the urban sprawl of Phoenix.
As we enter our research phase of this documentary we are looking for help. We will be seeking production funding and searching archives of historical information on Boyce Gulley and the castle. If you know of anyone who may have information on the Mystery Castle and Boyce Gulley or if you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation to the documentary please contact us by phone at 480-650-5892 or by e-mail at info@ reellifedvd.com.
