We have been intrigued by this massive body of water and have tried to get there for years, only to arrive in the time of COVID, limiting the amount of exploration we could do.
The sea — a lake, actually — was created by accident in 1905 when flooding from the Colorado River into irrigation canals eventually led a 40-mile stretch of desert known as the Salton Sink to fill with water, thus creating the lake.
Because its waters never discharge into the ocean and just seep into the ground or evaporate, the water has a high salinity level that just goes up as the years roll on.
Its salinity level was much lower 70 years ago, however, and the area quickly became a vacation spot, drawing tourists to the area year-round. At the Salton Sea's peak, it was pulling in 1.5 million visitors annually, more than Yosemite at that time.
The area's reputation for fun on the lake and fishing didn't last long and by the 1970s the fish population had begun to die. With a dwindling fish supply and water that had rising salinity levels as well as fertilizer runoff, tourism quickly dried up. A great deal of what you see now, appears as a tattered reminder of what was.
But then you stumble upon something like this- the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club and your imagination kicks in, allowing you to visualize the heyday.
In 1958, Ray Ryan and Trav Rogers developed the North Shore Beach area and constructed a Yacht Club, touted as a $2 million marine paradise with one of the largest marinas in Southern California. The Beach Boys, Jerry Lewis, and the Marx Brothers were a few that visited the club or kept boats in the marina. This was a very cool find for Steve and me as we are huge fans of the mid-century modern architect, Albert Frey.
Mr. Frey's two-story building is evocative of a ship with its curved prow, tall central mast, and porthole windows facing the water. Sandblasted terracotta colored concrete blocks are used for ground floor construction, corrugated metal sheathes exterior surfaces on the second story, thin eaves supported by slender steel posts provide shade on the second story terraces, brightly colored fiberglass panels sheathe the upper deck, and porthole windows with protruding round metal hoods offer telescopic views from the crow’s nest lounge.
Starting in the 1990s, the unoccupied former North Shore Yacht Club experienced many years of extreme neglect, deterioration, and vandalism. All of its surfaces had been painted, including the concrete block, corrugated metal cladding, and fiberglass panels. The glazing for all windows was gone and entry doors were destroyed, their openings covered with plywood. While the street-facing metal porthole tubes remained, the sea-facing ones were gone. The steel pole mast had been removed, an adjacent swimming pool was drained and cracked, and metal railings were missing. The interior had been entirely gutted with all metal and wiring stolen, including the suspended metal staircase. It was expected that the building would be demolished. In 2009, the County of Riverside allocated $3.35 million in funds to rehabilitate the former yacht club to its appearance in 1960 for use as a museum and community center. We were very impressed and plan to return, when opened, to explore this historical landmark.
While this isn't the paradise of old, there is something magical and magnetic about the Salton Sea. I liked this quote, "Eden exists at California's largest lake in the vistas as one stands upon its shores and gazes at snow capped mountains. In the brilliant sunsets that reflect gold in the feathers of majestic pelicans, in the guttural cry of the snowy egret as the sun lowers into the horizon. Eden exists in the spirit of those people that use, enjoy and depend upon the Salton Sea for their state of mind; their state of soul." We will be back.
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2 comments:
I really enjoyed your recent posts, particularly the phrase "vitamin N," which captures the restorative power of nature.
John and I went for a drive in the oak parkland of the Sierra foothills yesterday. We only got out of the car to buy gas, where we found our newly acquired single use gloves much easier to use handling the gas pump and buttons than the paper towels we had used before.
Thanks for sharing. Kay Henderson
The Salton Sea isn't a place that I have really explored. I mean, it doesn't look like much as you are passing through, and who even passes through this area anyway!? That being said, I think we go to Anza Borrego again we will at least stop... ;)
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