Amargosa Opera House
Death Valley Junction California would be a ghost town if it wasn’t for the sparkling white Spanish Colonial style hotel and adjoining opera house at its center. The stats for the town are stark: gas stations-0, auto repair shops-0, bars-0, convenience stores-0, hotel-1, opera house-1, Cafes (associated with Hotel and open on weekends only)-1. These are unusual commercial stats for any town. Originally named Amargosa, the town started as a result of borax mining in the area. Located at the terminus of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, it soon had a population of 350 people, which was a good size for a remote desert town. Pacific Coast Borax Company constructed a U-shaped complex of Spanish Colonial style adobe buildings to house the company offices, store, dormitory, a twenty-three room hotel, dining room, lobby, and employees' headquarters. The buildings designed by architect Alexander Hamilton McCulloch became the center of town. A recreation hall, called Corkhill Hall, was built at the northeast end of the complex. A multipurpose facility, the building served as a community center and was used for dances, town meetings, as well as, church services, movies, and even funerals. Other structures and business were added to town. A large gas station across from the hotel provided gas for haul trucks and motorists adventurous enough to come out this far into the desert. Repair shops not only for haul trucks and cars but for railroad cars too opened for business. Soon stores, bar and other businesses opened and the town thrived. In the late1920s, the hotel served as a very nice place to stay for company executives and visiting investors. After what was a long hot train ride they were often met at the train by white-gloved valets who took them to the hotel.
Then the Great Depression, changes in mining locations and activity and World War II took its toll on the town. In 1942, the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad ceased to be economical. The tracks were torn up completely and sent to build a railroad to aid the Allies military effort in Egypt. Once the railroad stopped, the town slowly fell into disrepair. The town was renamed to Death Valley Junction with the hope of attracting tourists on the way to then Death Valley National Monument, but the decay of the town continued. Then in the spring of 1967, Marta Becket and her husband found themselves stuck with a flat tire near the town of Amargosa. While her husband attended to the tire, Marta wandered through the town. She soon found the old recreation hall. Drawn to it, she moved to town, and settled down. Marta, a dancer and performer her whole life, began performing shows in the Corkhill Hall which she renamed the Amagorsa Opera House. She painted murals on the walls and, after a 1970 National Geographic article, her performances became quite famous. Her last performance was in 2012 and she passed away in 2017.
Before her death, Ms. Becket established the nonprofit Amargosa Opera House, Inc. to continue preservation of the property. The nonprofit owns the town of Death Valley Junction, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Though Marta is gone who legacy is carried by others who continue to perform in the Opera House..
Amargosa Opera House
Death Valley Junction California would be a ghost town if it wasn’t for the sparkling white Spanish Colonial style hotel and adjoining opera house at its center. The stats for the town are stark: gas stations-0, auto repair shops-0, bars-0, convenience stores-0, hotel-1, opera house-1, Cafes (associated with Hotel and open on weekends only)-1. These are unusual commercial stats for any town. Originally named Amargosa, the town started as a result of borax mining in the area. Located at the terminus of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, it soon had a population of 350 people, which was a good size for a remote desert town. Pacific Coast Borax Company constructed a U-shaped complex of Spanish Colonial style adobe buildings to house the company offices, store, dormitory, a twenty-three room hotel, dining room, lobby, and employees' headquarters. The buildings designed by architect Alexander Hamilton McCulloch became the center of town. A recreation hall, called Corkhill Hall, was built at the northeast end of the complex. A multipurpose facility, the building served as a community center and was used for dances, town meetings, as well as, church services, movies, and even funerals. Other structures and business were added to town. A large gas station across from the hotel provided gas for haul trucks and motorists adventurous enough to come out this far into the desert. Repair shops not only for haul trucks and cars but for railroad cars too opened for business. Soon stores, bar and other businesses opened and the town thrived. In the late1920s, the hotel served as a very nice place to stay for company executives and visiting investors. After what was a long hot train ride they were often met at the train by white-gloved valets who took them to the hotel.
Then the Great Depression, changes in mining locations and activity and World War II took its toll on the town. In 1942, the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad ceased to be economical. The tracks were torn up completely and sent to build a railroad to aid the Allies military effort in Egypt. Once the railroad stopped, the town slowly fell into disrepair. The town was renamed to Death Valley Junction with the hope of attracting tourists on the way to then Death Valley National Monument, but the decay of the town continued. Then in the spring of 1967, Marta Becket and her husband found themselves stuck with a flat tire near the town of Amargosa. While her husband attended to the tire, Marta wandered through the town. She soon found the old recreation hall. Drawn to it, she moved to town, and settled down. Marta, a dancer and performer her whole life, began performing shows in the Corkhill Hall which she renamed the Amagorsa Opera House. She painted murals on the walls and, after a 1970 National Geographic article, her performances became quite famous. Her last performance was in 2012 and she passed away in 2017.
Before her death, Ms. Becket established the nonprofit Amargosa Opera House, Inc. to continue preservation of the property. The nonprofit owns the town of Death Valley Junction, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Though Marta is gone who legacy is carried by others who continue to perform in the Opera House..