I lived in California City from 1999 to 2004, but worked in nearby Tehachapi. I bought a house for around $86,000 and sold it for $127,000 a few years later. At the time it was a quiet town. Moved to Colorado. I got tired of the hot summers out there. Great video.
@@tonyt8805I live here now. I'm originally from LA but I moved to Ridgecrest back in 2014 and then to Cal City in 2017. It's not so bad. I've gotten used to no traffic and having no amenities haha
The vast majority of the land was not purchased from anyone but gained from acquiring the land through mining claims. Each mining claim is over thirteen hundred feet long and we laid out thousands of mining claims, so the land could be acquired from the government. Once a mining claim is acquired at that time, you could get a final patent from the federal government after doing $150 of improvements on each claim. After you get your patent, you totally own the land free and clear. Then you can do anything you want with it. All the roads graded in, along with a few other improvements satisfied the government requirements for the $150 improvements for the claims, so many thousands of acres were given basically free for development. All they had to do was convince the people of Los Angeles to buy the lots from them. There was already a motel there and some basic buildings when I was sent there from the land survey company that employed me. We laid out the mining claims and later many of the roads and other improvements. This was around 1964. For the motel and etc. to already be there, probably means some of the initial land was privately purchased.
Great info! Do you have any info on “Lake L.A.”? There are great stories about that development as well, but many of the stories contradict one another. LOL
Some of the sketchiest land offerings on Ebay are posted by people hawking overpriced California City parcels. They lead with "Nearby area" pictures of lakes surrounded by grass and trees with the color saturation maxed out, then alternate tract maps. In reality, California City is a mostly barren grid of roads, and the climate is dry, windy, and in summer, HOT AF! There's also a LOT of crime and scumbags around the Antelope Valley who will steal anything you bring out here and leave unguarded for like an hour.
Key word: scumbags. I call them lowlife’s. But it’s the same thing. It’s sad that the desert has been turned into a gangbanger, methhead, drug dealer infested rat hole.
true story Lil Bill from Tehachapi got busted robbing houses in Cal City using a U-Haul truck . He thought emptying an entire house of its belongings was a good idea. Appliances, furniture, electronics, clothing, etc. During his final lick he gets the U-Haul stuck in the sand. Eventually a passer-by stops to help and convinces Lil Bill that he should empty some of the load to help get it unstuck. Good samaritan quickly notices all of his belongings and quietly calls the cops. 🙃
Yeah, I made California City a destination one weekend a few years ago and was HUGELY disappointed. Run down and way too far from anything half-way decent.
I lived in Lancaster, CA, and worked at Edwards AFB for 34-years. I retired and left Lancaster in 2010, because Lancaster had become a ghetto. I have friends that still live in Cal City and they have told me the quaint little city has also become a ghetto. Word to the wise, don't get off of Highway 14 in the Antelope Valley. Nice video.
Lancaster became a slump because all the aerospace jobs went away after the cold war. There were tons of people who left jobs at Lockheed, Rockwell for other companies after the mass layoff. People sold their homes while they could still find buyers. It will be tough for an aerospace resurgence in the dessert .
I lived in Lancaster for 18 years. I retired in 2002 and left in 2003. I was told by AV old timers that it had always been a boom & bust economy there because it was a “one horse town” (meaning aerospace was the main employer). They also said that many people with extra money got rich buying up properties when AV went bust, holding them until the boom came again and then sold the properties for big profits. The big bust, when I was there, was when Clinton (Bill not Hilary) cancelled a huge number of aerospace contracts. They had been allowing people to buy house for only 3% down so they had no investment in their houses. When the engineers got laid off, they could walk away from their houses because they had no investment in them. The depressed housing values makes it very hard to move from AV to more coastal CA. A good friend of mine lived in Palmdale and accepted a job as CEO of a hospital in Orange County (ultimately, he ran 2 hospitals), but he couldn’t buy a house there without assistance. He was income rich, but cash poor.
haha I live here now and yeah I find it funny that people call it abandoned. I've even seen "ghost town". um no there's 14k people here. Compared to what it was projected/planned for, yes it's a ghost town. I'm originally from LA and I really enjoy the lack of traffic and the 25min drive to work. We don't have too many places to shop/eat (well, places that I like) but that's what Lancaster and Tehachapi are for haha
With the overpopulation of L.A. and other So. Cal. cities/counties and the insane housing prices and cost of living, I think your optimistic tone at the end of your video is warranted. Why couldn't the fed'l, state and local gov'ts develop and build infrastructure in Cal. City for retirees, folks who need more affordable housing, other businesses needing cheap land prices, etc.? They have their own airport there and one in nearby Mojave, a Silver Saddle Ranch and Club, a Best Western Hotel, a Stater Bros. Market in Mojave, Edwards Air Force Flight Test Museum, Piute Lakes, etc. So, there are SOME amenities there, which could be expanded to accommodate more residents.
The immediate problem that I see more of a catch-22 problem is the lack of stores and whatnot in the immediate vicinity. Not that it couldn't be overcome, but I am not one of those people that likes to live far, far out in a desert only to have to drive miles and miles to get to the nearest store. Again--my personal opinion and doesn't mean that others aren't attracted to such a way of life. Enough people move in, and naturally, business(es) will follow, so it's not a permanent issue.
I visited there in the late 1960’s as a kid with my parents.I remember the sales pitch presentations and colorful optimistic maps laid out at that now abandoned visitors center that projected a 1.5 million population in California City by the mid 1970’s. I believe the visitors center and the little surrounding park next to the lake was called “The Merbius Center” or something like that. It was all modern looking and sported fountains outside. There was even a lawn with green grass. Anybody else remember this?
I was stationed at Edwards AFB in 1969 until 1971. My wife (at the time) worked at California City Realty processing paperwork for the developer. She would car pool with several other girls everyday to California City from the base. I hated it when it was her time to drive because I did not want my Firebird to be driven through sand storms.
@@genesiesky3756 Bull. My dad had a 68 firebird and I had muscle cars and never had any of that. The Mojave desert isn't full of sand either so you got it somewhere else.
There is blowing sand, sometimes it will last several minutes, you can see it and avoid it as I do. Generally in the transition of seasons. Never did see like a haboob or a actual sandstorm just periodic blowing sand.
in 1976 we went to california city to go dirt biking and camping. it was really weird all the blocks were cut out like in the pic. but it was so beautiful at night with all the stars in the sky. my uncle told me it was a developing city. i guess it never developed
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I used to live there in 1969. I remember the Merbisc Center with paddle boats and swimming pool. It was very close to Edwards AFB where my dad worked. I loved the sunsets.
My in laws used to live here. We live in RCrest but went down to visit them pretty much every other weekend. I hate the " w " here and I hate it there too. My mother in law passed in 2014 and it was really starting to go downhill from then. Crime and theft and then section 8. Really depressing
you hated what? btw I lived in both Ridgecrest and Cal City (I live here now) and um idk crime doesn't seem to be an issue. I think it's pretty safe 🤷♂
Trained and taught as a CCIM, Certified Commercial Investment Member, recognized expert in commercial investment real estate, the first question I ask is "How do people making their living?" i.e. How do the people there makes money? or "Economic Base". If there is no economic base, people living there has to find a way to make money to survive, unless the model of Las Vegas as a tourist casino town to attract people to come to town to spend money, creating jobs!
So the projected city was a failure but it's not entirely abandoned. In 2020, the population was just under 15,000. I don't know much about statistics and town sizes but would that make it a large village or small city?
Yeah California City is at peak population now. From what I read most residents work at Edwards Air Force base or a nearby prison. So it’s not the city that was envisioned by its creator but it’s certainly not a ghost town either
@@andrewward5891 Yes. The creator was dreaming of an ideal city to live in. It never got close. It's just a small city in the desert. But there was a big lottery winner in the city a couple of years ago. About a couple hundred million dollar winner. That's enough to buy a nice home in the San Diego area or Hawaii.
Its time can "still come" as a suburb of Greater Los Angeles. It is not out of reach since the City of Rosamond is now a growing northern suburb/excerb, and it is not too far from California City. The street plan that was laid out for California City could never accommodate 1.5 million people in single family homes.
I bought 2.5 acres of land there off eBay for 500 bucks about 20 years ago. I still own it and taxes are 16 bucks a year. I hope to sell it someday and double my money 😝 I get offers for it every now and then via mail, usually a couple hundred bucks....
I went to seek land, and check out the city. I found drugs and strange people. It felt depressing. I saw many mobile home parks where people are living. I said what is this? I said nope won't be buying anything here. I heard also there are now two jails. So Cal City appears to have been a place where city governments have found to drop of its incarcerated inmates. Not a place where i'd want my kids to grow in.
cal city has markets starbucks fastfood gas stations and beautiful central park farmers market great restaurants , major plus no traffic . rarely see any homeless , seen in past weeks several new home constructions ! maybe take another look .. thanks
Thanks for doing this video. I lived north of there in for a while. I still remember driving by and seeing the exit sign. I never took the exit to CA City. But now I wish I would have.
where'd you live?? Ridgecrest?? I moved to Ridgecrest in 2014 and lived there until 2017, when I moved to Cal City. I've been here since then and eh you get used to it haha It was odd at first for sure but ah well, there's always tradeoffs.
Well, that was bizarre. I've never been to California City, as far as I know, but that Lake Shore Inn looks like a place that's featured in several (that I can recall) of my dreams. The driveway in at the worn out sign, the missing wall with all the open rooms, the dilapidated parking lot, the nearby water and trees around behind ... and was that a courtyard with an empty in-ground pool? Like I said -- bizarre.
I live here now and yes that hotel is a bit odd. I've heard from people that have been here for a while that the hotel actually had events going on at some point. I heard there was a bowling here too. Sounds really odd to me given that there's only 14k people here now.
I used to have a buddy, Larry Knight, that lived in Cal City. He would drive down to Quartz Hill, south west of Lancaster, 3 times a week to train with me at my Karate Dojo. Great guy!
We used to ride dirt bikes in Cal City from 1987 thru 1991. We would find fire pits with lots of needles in them like people were partying at night. Lots of meth in those days. There were miles of trails, and some old paved roads to blast around on. In spring all the Mohave Green rattlers would come out around 5 pm. We gave them lots of room , and respect. We drove all the way from Camarillo, Ca. just for the weekend to ride. Fun times...Long gone.
Used to come out from T.O. and ride there as well as hi-vista until breaking an ankle. I was oblivious to meth in those days and just assumed crack because of stereotyping
@@Crowdog1234 Good times. Rode to Red Mountain, Randsburg. My son ran out of gas on a solo ride, had to get some gas from some nice people camping out there....Save the Tortoise !! Shut her down !! Only got lost once !!!
It failed because the developers thought the California State Water Project was going to supply water to the area. However, the project picked a route closer to Highway 41/46 instead. So, with very limited ground water, the housing project literally "dried up."
I visited there in 1982 when I lived in Mojave. I remember going to a recreational park in California City that had a waterfall drop, it was beautiful.
California city is the proof that a dream in your head and money in your pockets doesn't always works...your need practical solutions to problem that may arise..but the main solution is jobs and ppl willingness to to work in harmony..and good decent government
@@cyclepath55555 You and I are already paying for it! Legally if you have a place to send them you can get them off the streets and make it safe for you and yours as well as me and mine!!!
@@mr.kilpatrick2991 You and I are already paying for it! Legally if you have a place to send them you can get them off the streets and make it safe for you and yours as well as me and mine!!!
With the underground lake marijuana has become the new California Gold here with numerous grow houses built and being constructed. There is also the country's largest marijuana resort in the works complete with a motel, restaurant and a lazy river with a outdoor amphitheater where the Silver Saddle Ranch is located. The weather is absolutely miserable here, dry w/extreme heat high 100's , below freezing in winter dry and constant torturous winds. I assume if one is stoned you can deal with the weather. If we had rail going to LA this place would be the answer for affordable housing, of course after putting in several thousand new homes and housing projects greedy developers would turn it into no longer affordable.
Maybe because if you find a job around the area (Edwards AFB, somewhere in Mojave/Tehachapi) you're probably gonna choose to live in a "better city" like Lancaster, Palmdale, or Tehachapi. I live here in Cal City and although I've gotten used to the small town, I wish I was closer to actual stores/amenities. For example all of my shopping I do in Lancaster or Tehachapi. Whenever I wanna do something fun it's normally not here either. If you're a homebody/loner/gamer, this place would be great for you haha. Still though, I don't plan on moving any time soon unless the home prices collapse and I can afford a house Lancaster/Palmdale/Rosamond haha.
So why can't they take all those abandoned homes and buildings and house the homeless?????? BTW LOVE your videos bro. I used to live in L.A., so I like alot of these types of vids. Keep posting the good vibes!!!
Senseless endeavor. There is no infrastructure or support. Where does that come from? Putting homeless in homes alone will not solve the homeless problem. The behavioral aspects alone, not to mention the core motivations of the chronically homeless are an animal unto themselves. Solve those issues and you can begin a real choice of support and restoration for those who seek a traditional home life.
@@DavidHBurkart You don't get that its YOUR fault because we have so many homeless. Its SOCIETIES fault. And its the typical American response to disengage from responsibility for what AMERICA has done. They don't have this problem in Europe, because everyone looks out for each other. The mindset is different. And 70% of the REST of the world doesn't seem to have this issue either. So take responsibility for what YOUVE done.
It's hard to abandon something that never existed. Currently, the city's primary source of employment is the nearby prison... and that ends in March 2024. Then it will probably be abandoned, except for a few retirees and die-hards.
There is a tunnel that leads to the underground lake. I have seen pictures. This guy took a boat out on it with powerful lights to see through the darkness. There are several different types of fish in it as well 🎉
I have been through that area a number of times. It’s the Mohave desert. Think about that for a moment. It’s not someplace that would be high on my list of places to live. It gets quite hot there. And the wind blows. It’s still hot. Plus, where are the jobs to provide the seed money to build a large city that are within local commuting distances? No jobs, no money, no homes to live in. Oh, did I say it’s hot and dusty there?
I drive through the Salton Sea area on the 86 every few months, and I believe there is more there than California City. Lots of agriculture, businesses catering to the 86 traffic, and the not outrageous commute to Coachella, Indio, Palm Desert, and even Palm Springs have kept the place going. Not to mention, even off-roading has become a decent business as evidenced by the numerous recreational vehicles churning up dust (not to mention the several places renting out the recreational vehicles out there). I wouldn't count out Salton City just yet.
Why would you build it in the desert ? I don’t blame anyone for not wanting to live where it’s 120 degrees. Then again it has to be much safer than living in todays Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Far from "Abandoned". Having lived there in the early 80's and off-roaded on the town outskirts annually for years, the population is more than increased by 400%. The initial "dream" for the town has vanished but it has adapted, going in a different direction. While the introduction of the Prison in town and the efforts of LA County to empty there jails by sending parolees on their way with one-way bus rides to California City has brought more crime to the area, there have been new housing developments with custom homes that hold promise of improving the city culture and economics. Many homeowners, I believe are employed by both Mojave Aeronautics development and Edwards AFB civilian workers.
I remember the song now ! .... they paved paradise and put in a parking lot...... the songs old but the story remains the same. It's still a desert. 👍✌️
It isn’t really abandoned, and they even have some fairly nice areas, but it is true it never came close to the hype. Many residents there work at nearby Edwards AFB. With the exception of Las Vegas, almost all really large cities in the US are near navigable waterways.
California City was not on a waterway, main highway or railroad, and wasn't 'in between' population centers of any size. It was bound to fail. Las Vegas had wells and was on the Los Angeles and Salt Lake (Union Pacific) railroad, so it had a chance.
@@Greatdome99 absolutely. It is in a very weird spot, not even that close to the major freeways. When we drove through a few months ago our GPS was showing roads where there are none and we almost turned around. We finally entered the populated area and were surprised to find a brand new mall with a good coffee shop. It was all quite surreal.
Excellent Video , I applied for a position with the city in the Early 90's, lots of promise but not much to see. I have heard a lot of people from South Central L.A. have moved up there but i am not sure.
I grew up near California City. Ironically, it was one of the nicer places in that area. I used to play at the park with the lake on a regular basis. There were paddle boats you could rent. It was a very nice park for a desert town. It was lack of industry that caused California City to die out. Other than that, there is no reason for that town to be in that state of decay. It’s day will come…
I worked there off and on and played golf there silver saddle country club was out there and you could skydive out there also pancho barnes had her bar not far from there ,its a neat place just in the middle, so it dodnt grow .
It is still trying to expand with new housing being buillt now. I have lived here for the past 11 years but also came here in 95 but lost first home trying to go to a job in San Fernando Valley but there have been som improvements with new business. Population still a little over 15098.
To set the record straight, California City is NOT in the Antelope Valley, and it's not "abandoned". It's in the in the Boron Valley, (around 25 miles North East of the Antelope Valley), it has a population of over 15,000 people, a City Council, a police force, a Public Works Department, a Parks & Recreation Department, and an active airport, (hardly "abandoned"). Apparently Alexander X knows little about California City, but has only pulled up information from the internet, (some of it erroneous).
An undersized, growth-stunted town is no laughing matter! Its best delivered in a solemn funerial voice. You're supposed to watch this with hands on table and leaning forward, wearing an expression of grave concern like David Muir.
I worked in CA city. But, it wasn’t until 2:14 that there was any indication where CA city is located. It could’ve been any California City! Btw, your narration is fine for a eulogy, but ???
If cal city build more homes that are affordable with the way things are today, cal city will become bigger than palmdale and lancaster combined. People will take the drive from cal city to LA for work if it means the opprrtunity to own a home and land big enough where your kids can run.
