Bruce Busboom, a Sun City resident, has an accomplishment that probably no one else in Sun City can claim: he built a castle. It’s not just any castle, but one with a working drawbridge, a moat with mechanical crocodiles, and a pair of gargoyles spouting water 30 feet into a moat.
Busboom said, “My claim to fame is that out of the 350 castles in the United States, I have a working drawbridge. Disney has a drawbridge that was raised once, but has not been used since. My drawbridge is 10 1/2 feet tall, 5 feet wide, 4.5 inches thick, weighs 660 pounds, and is held together with 180 stainless steel bolts. The ‘portcullis’ is the counterweight and picks up 700 pounds of scrap iron when it reaches the halfway mark. A trumpet fanfare plays when the drawbridge is lowered.”
In 1987, Busboom purchased a heavily wooded 5-acre plot of land. His dedication to the project was unwavering. In 1993, he started buying the materials needed for the project, piling up two by fours. In 1995, he was able to move in.
Bruce Busboom can claim what very few people in the United States can claim. He built and owns a real castle. (Photo by Christine Such/My Sun Day News)
“When I was ready to start the project, I was lucky to have some friends who stopped by and helped,” he said. “We videoed the construction. It is a 4,800-square-foot castle with two square towers. The castle’s walls are 16 inches thick, with a veneer of split-face, 70-pound concrete blocks. Six concrete piers and a poured concrete foundation five feet deep and three feet wide at the bottom support the massive walls.”
The north tower contains a three-story staircase leading to an observation deck and a walk-out door to the main roof. The Great Hall is 50 feet long and has a 22-foot ceiling. It has a drawbridge at one end, a fireplace/entertainment center at the other, and a long dining table between them. Busboom also built the entertainment center, which is 13 feet high and 17 feet wide.
Busboom said, “That dining room table was my grandmother’s. I had to fix it up, and there are king and queen chairs. I added the cameo on the chairs.”
There is something in his building that you would not find in medieval castles: an elevator.
“I designed the castle so that I can use it throughout my life. The castle is ADA accessible, so all the doors are extra wide, and an elevator is in the south tower. I also built a stone shower that can be accessed by wheelchair. There are four bedrooms, three full and two half bathrooms, a hobby room, a parlor, a large kitchen, a pantry, a laundry room, and an owner’s retreat. My favorite design feature is the kitchen door, the servant’s entrance, next to the driveway. My refrigerator is six feet from the trunk of my car,” he said.
Busboom found help decorating the interior.
“I found some medieval items, a coat of arms. I was contacted by individuals who were willing to sell me some items. And even some strangers who’d heard about the castle donated medieval-themed items, sometimes anonymously leaving things in the driveway. But when I was looking for some items from a highly recommended one-of-a-kind store, I found Connie. I looked at this woman, and she was beautiful. And she is the reason I am in Sun City,” he said.
Busboom’s castle came with its costs, however. The castle’s building cost him his marriage and forced him to obtain a mortgage on his castle for his settlement. This was a difficult period in his life, but it also began a new chapter.
“I had to start renting it out as a B&B,” Busboom said. “A lot of University of Illinois families stayed at the castle. There were 55 weddings held at the castle. They were smaller weddings, accommodating 90 guests for meals. I became an ordained minister and officiated at some of the weddings. Now we enjoy the castle as a family. We have all our big holiday gatherings there.”
This journey, from personal loss to creating a space for joy and celebration, is a testament to Busboom’s resilience and the castle’s transformative power.
Busboom worked in union carpentry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was a shop foreman with 80 carpenters and then a project manager and construction manager. That background gave him the skills and know-how to build this castle.
The castle is just off Rt. 47, 138 miles south of Sun City. Busboom’s castle has been featured many times on networks. You can get a glimpse of the castle below:
