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Charles Alexander MacNeilledge

Scotty's Castle
(Death Valley Scotty Historic District)
Scottys Castle from Hacienda.jpg
Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle is located in California
Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle is located in the US
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 117.341500°W / 37.03222; -117.341500Coordinates: 37°1′56″N 117°20′29.4″W / 37.03222°N 117.341500°W / 37.03222; -117.341500
Area 719.57 hectares (1778.0574 acres)
Built 1922 - 1931
Architect Martin de Dubovay
Engineer Mat Roy Thompson
Designer Charles Alexander MacNeilledge
Architectural style Provincial Spanish
(Mexican, Spanish, and Mediterranean influences)
NRHP Reference # 78000297
Added to NRHP July 20, 1978

Scotty's Castle (also known as Death Valley Ranch) 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.. "Scotty's Castle" is named for gold prospector Walter E. Scott, although Scott never owned it, nor is it an actual castle.

The ranch is located about 45 miles north of Stovepipe Wells, California, via California State Route 190 to Scotty's Castle Road, or about a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, Nevada.

The property is currently closed, due to flood damage (see below).

Construction began on Scotty's Castle in 1922, and cost between $1.5 and $2.5 million. Prospector, performer, and con man Walter Scott, born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, also known as “Death Valley Scotty,” convinced Chicago millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson to invest in his gold mine in the Death Valley area. Though initially angered when the mine turned out to be fraudulent, Johnson was fascinated with the colorful Scott and the two men struck up an unlikely friendship. 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 Bessie 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.


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