Scotty's Castle

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Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle is a two-story Spanish Villa located in northern Death Valley National Park, California, USA. 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.

1 History
2 Tours
3 Water and electricity
4 Additional info
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] 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 and also known as “Death Valley Scotty”, convinced Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson to invest in his (fraudulent) gold mine in the Death Valley area. By 1937, Johnson had acquired more than 1,500 acres in Grapevine Canyon, where the ranch is located was subsequently constructed.

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 stock market crash of 1929, however, made it difficult for Johnson to finish construction. In 1931 surveys determined that Johnson had not actually acquired title to the land where the "castle" had been begun; this was rectified by 1935 but Johnson's main business interest, an insurance company, had gone bankrupt in 1933, leaving him with little capital with which to continue. The Johnsons died without heirs and they left the property to the Gospel Foundation. In 1970, the National Park Service purchased the villa for $850,000 from the foundation. Walter Scott died in 1954 and was buried on the hill overlooking Scotty's Castle.

[edit] Tours

The Park Service gives guided tours of Scotty's Castle today. 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.

[edit] Water and electricity

The springs of Grapevine Canyon provided the water supply for the ranch, and were used to generate electricity. The springs were located at an elevation about 300 feet higher than the villa, and there was enough water flow and pressure to turn a Pelton wheel, which would run a generator to generate the villa's electricity. The springs provided enough water to meet all the needs of the ranch, with enough left over for other uses. A water fountain was constructed in the Great Hall, where water dripped down a rock face into a catch basin for recirculation.

[edit] Additional info

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