Bishop Castle - near Beulah, Colorado
Jim Bishop has been working on a spectacular stone castle in the Rocky Mountain foothills west of Peublo, Colorado since 1969. Using leftover rock from highway construction projects and working primarily alone, his castle has steadily grown over the years. The castle features several towers, the highest soaring to 160 feet. The rough walls are strung with spindly wrought-iron balconies and staircases like a fun-house maze to the top. Climbing the castle is not for those who are afraid of heights. A fire-breathing dragon figure-head tops the great hall of the castle, which is rented out for weddings and special events.
Over the years, Jim Bishop has struggled often with local government officials who have held him back from his lofty plans. The site is peppered with hand-lettered signs arguing his point-of-view, not so much to win the visitor to his side but simply as a record of injustices beaten back by truth. On a warm day the castle is crawling with tourists enjoying a kind of libertarian freedom of open air, free from safety railings and building inspectors. Bishop Castle embodies the freedom of the westerner to build dreams unhobbled by the fences of small-minded rules and conventions.
A history of the castle and directions are at Eagle River Pewter.
