Zzyzx, California: Zzyzx: Quack-Founded Town, Last Name In The Atlas
From 1944-1974 the pseudo-town/resort was the private fiefdom of bogus medicine radio personality Curtis Howe Springer. Today an oasis of ruins, palm trees, and buildings housing desert studies researchers.
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Zzyzx, now the Desert Studies Center, is worth the bit of a drive to get there. Sometimes chained off, sometimes not, we happened to find it on a day when the caretaker was there.
Zzyzx was made what it is now by the Rev. Dr. Curtis Springer, called by the medical field the "King of Quacks," as a cure-all mineral hot springs. Problem is, the "hot springs" was a boiler he put under the water, and the miracle cures were actually just juice. He built a cross shaped mineral pool, a 64 room hotel, a chapel, and more on squatted-on property, where the rich and famous came for the advertised "fountain of youth."
Closed for many years, the U of C came and made it the center for desert studies after finding the rare Mohave chub living there. It's got a neat energy to the place, and is tourist-friendly, hosting weekend events, visiting scientists, and the occasional day tripper. The area around it has an expansive Gypsum flats, as well as picnic areas.
[RomDeussen, 03/19/2011]
How do you pronounce this???
[Lauren, 02/09/2010][Previous 5 items] Page of 2
Zzyzx: Quack-Founded Town, Last Name In The Atlas
- Address:
- Zzyzx Rd, Zzyzx, CA
- Directions:
- Exit I-15 at Zzyzx Rd, six miles southwest of Baker. The old resort is 4 1/2 miles south. The Desert Studies Center features active classrooms, labs, and apartments and is no longer accessible to the public.
- Hours:
- Spring area only, no public access to buildings. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
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"Zye-zix." From 1944-1974 Zzyzx was the private fiefdom of "medicine man" Curtis Howe Springer, who made millions selling bogus health cures through his radio station in town. Springer made up its name, which he claimed was the last in the dictionary. To this day it probably helps remind long haul truckers to pull off and grab some shut-eye.