Building A Recording Studio In A Ghost Town

[Inyo]

Here's a delightful video, IMOPE (in my own personal estimation). It's all about the owner and primary restoration manager of Cerro Gordo ghost town, situated at an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet but a few miles west of the boundary with Death Valley National Park (the abandoned town overlooks Mount Whitney to the west, across Owens Valley in the neighboring Sierra Nevada, highest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet)--a much famous mining district that in two major cycles of activity (1866 to 1888; 1906 to 1933) produced spectacular riches from high grade ores of silver, lead and zinc (subordinate admixtures of gold reported, as well)--who travels to Washington state to log and mill lumber from salvaged, reclaimed, western red cedar and Douglas-fir trees for use in the construction of a recording studio on site at Cerro Gordo.

This is Part 1 of the recording studio project (it came over the transom yesterday):

[Joseph Hanna]

For the last 20-25 years, I have been obsessed with the Deserts of the American Southwest. For me, Joshua Tree, the Mojave Dessert, and indeed, Death Valley National Park represent the absolute most magical places in the U.S. They are stark yet brutal, jaw-droppingly beautiful with colors that change dramatically throughout the course of a day. Purple, orange, red, brown, and yellow mountains contrast the endless brilliant sky blue skies. The whole thing reset every few miles, and a surge of new sights comes flooding in. And, of course, there are simply the most dramatic sunsets on the planet.

The plant life is stunning. Joshua Tree National Park, with the beautiful but, unfortunately, dying Joshua Trees and the endless Teddy Bear and Jumping Cholla Catus, particularly the Cholla Garden in the southern area of Joshua Tree National Park, must be seen to be believed. As a side note, I learned the tough way why they call the Cholla "Jumping Cholla."

I've visited Cerro Gordo, and as with any old mining town in the desert, you can't help but daydream about what it must have been like living in that beautiful yet brutal area. It makes your head spin a bit. There is some deep-down calling to the desert for me, so much so that we spend 2 or 3 weeks in Joshua Tree annually. We have a place just outside the park, not far from Cap Rock. If you know your rock-n-roll history, you know the significance of Cap Rock. Also, with the advent of COVID and the whole work-from-home movement, I know of a 1/2 dozen or so production folk who have moved from L.A. out to Joshua. You have to have one whale of an air conditioning system, but the rent is half or less than Hollywood, and the views are pretty spectacular.

I'd like to see this Studio build unfold, as it is an excellent idea. Cerro Gordo is accessible from Fresno, Las Vegas, and even L.A. Hopefully, it's a "build it and they will come" scenario.

[Sasquatchian]

I've been exploring the deserts of California for 40 year or so at this point. As a photographer it's a never ending source of interest.

The first time I was at Cerro Gordo was 17 years ago when Mike Patterson still ran the ghost town. We paid him $50 to let us take photos and he was so nice. The second time I took Gee up there four years ago and they wanted $10 to shoot photos.

We were in the eastern Sierras a month ago for a week and there was a lot of weather and the Cerro Gordo road was not open so we headed out to Darwin instead, about halfway between Lone Pine and Death Valley, shot a few photos of rotting and rusting Renaults and headed back to Lone Pine.

But a recording studio in Cerro Gordo? Ugh. Just because you can does not mean you should. The road is often times washed out. Sometimes you can make it in 2WD but other times 4WD is not enough, and then there are the winters. My prediction, if they actually get it off the ground is that it doesn't come anywhere near generating enough income to pay back the loans, and like every other enterprise there in the last twenty years, ends up going away, but this time leaving even more scarring of the land. And then there's the 8500 feet above sea level.

[Sasquatchian]

This was cool in 2009 but was nothing interesting ten years later. Pity about the 600 pixel limit here.

[Inyo]

Originally Posted by Inyo

Here's a delightful video, IMOPE (in my own personal estimation). It's all about the owner and primary restoration manager of Cerro Gordo ghost town, situated at an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet but a few miles west of the boundary with Death Valley National Park (the abandoned town overlooks Mount Whitney to the west, across Owens Valley in the neighboring Sierra Nevada, highest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet)--a much famous mining district that in two major cycles of activity (1866 to 1888; 1906 to 1933) produced spectacular riches from high grade ores of silver, lead and zinc (subordinate admixtures of gold reported, as well)--who travels to Washington state to log and mill lumber from salvaged, reclaimed, western red cedar and Douglas-fir trees for use in the construction of a recording studio on site at Cerro Gordo.

This is Part 1 of the recording studio project (it came over the transom yesterday):

Here's Part 2 of the ongoing project to construct a recording studio at Cerro Gordo Ghost Town, California. It's an mp4 video recorded from a much longer YouTube video by Cerro Gordo Ghost Town owner Brent Underwood, available under the title: "I've Been Living In A Ghost Town For Almost 4 Years!" (where he talks about lots of additional particulars relating to Cerro Gordo--not just the recording studio).

Update On Cerro Gordo Ghost Town Recording Studio