A childhood fascination with fort building spurred charismatic dreamer and ne'er-do-well Michael Rubel to begin constructing Rubel Castle from the ground up starting in 1968 and continuing for 18 years. Rubel's gregarious nature lured the whole town of Glendora into participating in the building of this bit of folk architecture. He ended up with an elaborate stone castle consisting of towers, a drawbridge and a functioning blacksmith shop, made mostly from arroyo rocks and objects found at the Glendora town dump. The Glendora Historical Society gives tours of the property, which will make you smile and leave you in awe. It's a homegrown fairy tale. 844 N. Live Oak, Glendora, 91741. (626) 963-0419, glendorahistoricalsociety.org/Castle.html. —Nikki Kreuzer

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