Front and Side View: The front and side view of the Bishop Castle greets visitors after they make their way through the arched stone entryway into the castle grounds. The sheer size and magnitude of the castle is amazing as you approach the building. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Grand Hall: The most impressive floor in the castle is the third floor where the Grand Hall is located. The hall covers the entire interior floor space on this floor. This space is very impressive as you look around and begin to notice the details and support design of the space. The open floor is covered by a beautiful wood ceiling high above that is supported by stone arches and steel support beams. Glass runs the entire length of the ceiling at the ridge of the roofline creating a massive skylight which fills the space with sunlight. Each end of the room has glass walls and doors which create fantastic views of the outdoors and allow for more sunlight. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly from Los Alamos
As a 15-year-old high school dropout. Jim Bishop begged for his parents to sign papers so that he could purchase two and a half acres of property in Colorado surrounded by the San Isabel National Forest. Parents Willard and Polly agreed and Jim purchased the land for $450 in 1959 with money he had earned mowing lawns and doing other chores over time.
The property is on Colorado Highway 165 in Custer County. the address is listed as Rye, Colo. but one must travel 16 miles west of the small town of Rye before arriving at the property. The property sits at 9,200 feet in elevation which limited time to work on the place to summer months. For the next few years Jim and his father Willard would spend time preparing the property for a family cottage in the mountains.
Jim married the love of his life Phoebe in 1967. By 1969, at the age of 25, Jim began construction on a stone cottage on the property. Jim would spend week days working at the family business Bishop Ornamental Iron Shop in Pueblo, Colo. and then work weekends in the mountains building the cottage.
As the stone structure began to take shape it came time to add a tank for the water storage. A steel container 25 feet long had been salvaged by the family business in Pueblo and Jim decided it would be a good source for a water tank.
Jim installed the tank vertically and encased the tank with stone. The structure was attracting attention but following the installation of the tank people began to ask if he was building a castle. Jim enjoyed the attention that his project was attracting and the idea of a castle became a dream. Jim continued to build and build and the one room cottage grew and grew.
It had become a man’s dream castle.
Jim’s dad wanted nothing to do with a project of that magnitude but Jim continued to construct the cottage by himself. As one part of the castle was constructed he would began visualizing the next step in the project. The castle became a one man “do it yourself project” that went on for over a half of a century! It wasn’t until declining health in 2023 that Jim Bishop has ceased adding anything new to the castle but he can still be seen moving rocks or other duties on the job-site.
It was also in 2023 that Bishop’s son Dan has taken over operations at the castle. Dan Bishop has stated that he will only maintain the building but not add anything since the entire castle is the work of one person, his dad Jim Bishop.
Many had suggested that Jim Bishop capitalize on the attention that the castle attracted but Jim refused. He stated that as a child he was disappointed at not having the money to go to the zoo or ballpark or whatever and he wanted the castle to be free for anyone to see and enjoy. There are donation boxes at the castle for those who want to do so.
Today Bishop Castle is an impressive statement to one man’s will and determination. Maybe the work of someone very eccentric, quirky, eclectic, crazy or whatever adjective you may use to describe a person such as Jim Bishop. I believe some of those terms apply but I also admire anyone who can start a project and have the determination to follow through with the job, especially working alone over many years.
Bishop Castle is huge. The structure stands 160 feet high, about the height of a 16 story building. There are three main floors plus turrets and other additional walkways and architectural features. It is estimated that the entire structure contains over 50,000 tons of stones, concrete, lumber, glass, and steel.
As you tour Bishop Castle, it is hard to believe that the building is the work of one individual. Bishop collected the rocks and stones and loaded them into a truck by hand, one by one. Every rock used in the structure was handled an average of six times before being cemented into place at the castle. There are also hundreds of steel, wood, concrete and stone steps within the castle many being odd shaped due to the circular turrets. Bishop mixed the cement, cut and trimmed the logs into planks and put all of the pieces in place while working alone.
The third floor of the castle is a Grand Hall. Many weddings have taken place in the large space over the years. To gaze at the open space and structural features of that room along is mind boggling. Even the wooden planks of the floors were made from trees cut on the property. The only thing that Jim did not make was the stain glass seen in the building but he did do all of the installation of the stained glass.
On the exterior of the castle are steel walkways and steps that lead visitors all over the structure even reaching high above the roof. A dragon head protrudes from the upper gable on the front of the castle. The dragon is made from discarded stainless steel warming pans from a Pueblo hospital. A burner salvaged from a hot air balloonist supplies fire that can be seen coming from the dragon’s mouth during special events or occasions.
Bishop Castle has never been lived in. The only furniture in the place are a few folding chairs and a bench or two. While some areas of the building are completely enclosed, other areas are more open air.
Was the castle constructed without legal or other issues. No! Bishop and his wife battled governmental agencies from the local to state to national level. The Bishops continued to persevere through it all.
While there is no longer additions being made to the castle, it is still considered a construction site. Anyone is welcome to enter and explore the castle at their own risks.
Today, Jim Bishop can be seen at the castle often but he was not around during our visit a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately Jim’s wife Phoebe died of cancer in 2018. Jim is a cancer survivor but now has other health issues which limits his activities.
Bishop Castle is truly a testament of what one man with a big imagination, a dream, a goal, will and determination can accomplish. It is an amazing structure that must be seen to believe!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Grand Hall Back View: This view of the Grand Hall shows the rear wall of stone and glass with more views of the outdoors. The castle sits on a hillside with the back of the building only about one floor level from the ground where the front side of the room is much higher than up from the ground level. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Front View of Castle: A view of the front of the castle shows the three levels of the castle. The lower level is the darker interior as this level protrudes into the hillside with no windows in the rear of the building. The second level which is filled with stone arches with the smaller arched windows facing the front of the building. The third level houses the grand hall with the massive windows in the front of the castle. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Upper Exterior: A view from a steel walkway gives a closer view of the roof of the grand hall and turrets as well a view of some of the steel walkways and steps that lead visitors all around and over the exterior of the castle. The roof top seen is the roof of the grand hall and this view shows how much higher the exterior steps and walkways go beyond the roof of the castle. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Second Floor Interior: The interior of the second floor is divided by several arches of stone and ornamental steel. This creates smaller spaces within the large expanse of the second floor. Also seen are some of the arched windows with stained glass which are in the front of the castle. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Lower Front View: A view of the front of the Bishop Castle gives one another view of the three levels of space in the castle as well as the window sizes and styles of windows used in the building. Also evident is the iron work which is seen throughout the castle. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Grand Side Entrance: The grand hall has a beautifully designed side entrance near the front of the Bishop Castle. Seen are the stone, glass, and steel work that create the creative design of the entrance. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com