Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle (Death Valley Scotty Historic District)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Scotty's Castle
Location:	Death Valley National Park
Nearest city:	Beatty, Nevada, USA
Coordinates:	37°1′56″N 117°20′29.4″W / 37.03222°N 117.3415°W / 37.03222; -117.3415Coordinates: 37°1′56″N 117°20′29.4″W / 37.03222°N 117.3415°W / 37.03222; -117.3415
Area:	719.57 hectares (1778.0574 acres)
Built:	1922 - 1931
Architect:	Martin de Dubovay
Architectural style:	Provincial Spanish (Mexican, Spanish, and Mediterranean influences)
Governing body:	NPS
NRHP Reference#:	78000297 [1] [2]
Added to NRHP:	July 20, 1978

Scotty's Castle is a two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.. It is also known as Death Valley Ranch. Scotty's Castle is not a real castle, and it did not belong to the "Scotty" from whom it got its name.

History

Construction began on Scotty's Castle in 1922, and cost between $1.5 and $2.5 million. A man named Walter Scott born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, also known as “Death Valley Scotty”, convinced Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson to invest in his gold mine in the Death Valley area. By 1937, Johnson had acquired more than 1,500 acres (610 ha) in Grapevine Canyon, where the ranch is located.

After Johnson and his wife made several trips to the region, and his health improved, construction began. It was Mrs. Johnson's idea to build something comfortable for their vacations in the area, and the villa eventually became a winter home.

The Johnsons hired Martin de Dubovay as the architect, Mat Roy Thompson as the engineer and head of construction, and Charles Alexander MacNeilledge as the designer.^[1]

Unknown to the Johnsons, the initial survey was incorrect, and the land they built Death Valley Ranch on was actually government land; their land was further up Grapevine Canyon. Construction halted as they resolved this mistake, but before it could resume, the stock market crashed in 1929, making it difficult for Johnson to finish construction. Having lost a considerable amount of money, the Johnsons used the Death Valley Ranch to produce income by letting rooms out. The Johnsons died without heirs and had hoped that the National Park Service would purchase the property, and in 1970, the National Park Service purchased the villa for $850,000 from the Gospel Foundation, to which the Johnsons left the property. Walter Scott, who was taken care of by the Gospel Foundation after Johnson's passing, died in 1954 and was buried on the hill overlooking Scotty's Castle next to a beloved dog.

Tours

The U.S. National Park Service gives guided tours of Scotty's Castle for a nominal fee. Park rangers dress in 1930s style clothes to help take the visitor back in time. During the tour, guests are treated to the sounds of a 1,121 pipe Welte theater organ. An underground mystery tour is also available for those wishing to see the inner-workings of the building. One-quarter of a mile of tunnels run under the building, where visitors can visit the powerhouse and see thousands of tiles that were to be used for the never-finished swimming pool. The main house tour is ADA accessible, but the underground tour is not.^[3]

Water and electricity

The springs of Grapevine Canyon provided the water supply for the ranch and were used to generate electricity. The springs, located about 300 feet (91 m) higher than the villa, generated enough water flow and pressure to turn a Pelton wheel, which ran the generator that furnished the villa's electricity. The springs provided enough water to meet all the needs of the ranch, with enough left for other uses. A water fountain was constructed in the Great Hall, where water dripped down a rock face creating evaporative cooling and into a catch basin for recirculation.

Additional info

Both the Scotty's Castle Visitor Center and the Castle Museum are currently open year-round, and approximately 100,000 people tour the villa each year. The Johnsons' original furnishings and clothing can still be seen today. The ranch is located about 45 miles north of Stovepipe Wells, California, on Highway 267, about a three-hours drive from Las Vegas, Nevada.^[3]

See also

• Death Valley National Park

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination form - Death Vally Scotty Historic District". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 1978-07-20. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/78000297.pdf. 
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-09-22. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Scotty's Castle". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm. 

References

• desertusa.com
• GORP.com
• National Park Service
• outwestnewspaper.com

External links

• National Park Service page on Scotty's Castle
• Interior and exterior photo tours of Scotty's Castle