Rubel Castle

Rubel Castle (also known as Rubelia) was established in Glendora, California, by Michael Clarke Rubel (April 16, 1940-October 15, 2007). It has been called "a San Gabriel Valley version of Watts Towers.”

Rubel purchased a 2 ½ acre citrus orchard on which the structure resides in 1959. He and his friends completed construction in 1986. Rubelia is considered the first major recycling project in the United States, according to David Traversi, who authored One Man's Dream: The Spirit of the Rubel Castle.

Rubel Castle was constructed partly out of concrete, but also out of scrap steel, rocks, bedsprings, coat hangers, bottles and other pieces of junk that Rubel found.