While at Death Valley National Park, we took a tour of "Scotty's Castle". This castle was built in the 1930's by a wealthy Chicago insurance executive, Mr. Albert Johnson. It seems that Johnson had invested in a Death Valley gold mine that Walter "Death Valley Scotty" Scott supposedly owned. Scotty was quite the con man and his life was very colorful. Somehow, these two men ended up being very good friends and Albert Johnson didn't mind Scotty claiming that the castle was his. It was actually the vacation home that Johnson built for himself and his wife when he realized that the desert climate was good for his health. The stories of Scotty & Albert are almost more interesting than the castle. The guided tour was extremely interesting. Unfortunately, it was pretty dark in most rooms of the castle and my speed light was in the truck, so I didn't get pictures that were as good as I would have liked them to be.
Scott's Castle
A view of Death Valley from the castle
1933 Packard in the garage
Scotty's bedroom. Once he was
finished entertaining the Johnson's
guests with his tales, he would retire
to his bedroom. Then he would exit
the castle through another door at
the other end of his bedroom and
go to his little cottage that Johnson had
built for him on the property. Scotty's
bedroom was really just a prop.
Part of the kitchen. They had the only
true refrigerator in the area at the time.
This trunk is the most valuable antique
in the castle. It was made in Spain in
1491. It has carvings of King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella on the front. This
was the year before they funded Columbus'
journey to America.
The ornate woodwork on the ceiling in
the music room where a huge pipe organ
is installed.
The ceiling in the music room.
No comments:
Post a Comment