Mystery Castle - Phoenix

Mystery Castle - Phoenix

The Mystery Castle was a fun treat for us to discover at South Mountain in Phoenix. Built in the 1930's the property is a "hidden treasure" that was featured in a story in "Life" Magazine in 1948. The owner came from back East to try to recover from Tuberculosis (because once upon a time the air here in the Valley was actually clean and therapeutic for TB sufferers) and spent over a decade building this 18-room home for his wife and daughter who eventually came out to join him (but only after his death). The home was built from items that were found or donated by neighbors who wanted to help him out which explains the eclectic nature of the architecture and artwork throughout the property.

The home did not have running water or electricity and so it was built to utilize passive cooling techniques to allow the family to survive the extreme weather. The owner designed and built a dumb-water to help raise cocktails from a storage "well" that was dug into the foundation of the building (where temperatures can be in the 70's even in the Summer). 

The tour is $10 per person CASH ONLY and is at least an hour to discover the property. 
The Mystery Castle is located in the Foothills of South Mountain Park (two miles south of Baseline Road) at 800 E. Mineral Road in Phoenix, Arizona 85040.

http://www.mymysterycastle.com/location-and-tours/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Castle

San Xavier Mission

San Xavier Mission

This was such a great day trip down from Phoenix to outside Tucson is the San Xavier Mission and that opened in 1797. The mission has an amazing history and is iconic to the Southwest. The mission has a rich history and thanks to many volunteers who work to keep it beautiful it still looks the same today. Learning about the mission helps create a sense of historical perspective as the Mission was being built around the same time John Adams was about to be born in as President, the Treaty of Tripoli was being signed with the Trey of Tripoli to help protect American ships from Barbary Pirates, and the United States was composed of just 15 States.  It is humbling to view the two Century old artwork within the chapel area of the Mission, the sculptures, and the iconic Spanish-Colonial architecture.

http://www.sanxaviermission.org

Explore Arcosanti - An Urban Laboratory

Arcosanti - An Urban Laboratory

Arcosanti is a little known art community about an hour and a half North of Phoenix on I-17.  Back in 1970, renown architect and social engineer Paolo Soleri and a group of volunteers began building this communal space for living, educating and entertainment - think "Biosphere 2" but for artists and architects. Soleri believed that modern society needed significant changes to how cities were designed and constructed to minimize urban sprawl, traffic, and help maximize social interactions within society. Soleri coined the term of "arcology" - Architecture and Ecology - which philosophically combines the ideas of how humans interact with their environment.

The guided tour tells the history of the project while walking through the community and explaining how it is still evolving. Our guide this day was a lovely young woman who has been living/learning on site for the past year as an alumni of a previous program. The tour takes you through Arcosanti's art spaces, living spaces, common spaces, and gardens. Students from across the country apply for the limited number of fellowships to spend a year working along master artists and craftsmen to hone their skills and participate in this fascinating experiment. One main source of funding for the organization is the sale of the bronze wind-chimes that are forged on site using bronze sand-casting methods (which is part of the tour).

Tours are conducted daily and are on the way from Phoenix to Sedona or Flagstaff.

https://arcosanti.org