Desert View Tower
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Desert View Tower
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| Nearest city | Ocotillo, California |
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| Coordinates | 32°39′33″N 116°5′57″W / 32.65917°N 116.09917°WCoordinates: 32°39′33″N 116°5′57″W / 32.65917°N 116.09917°W |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1922-1928 |
| Architectural style | Other, Environmental Folk Art |
| MPS | Twentieth Century Folk Art Environment in California TR |
| NRHP reference # | 80000801 |
| Added to NRHP | August 29, 1980 |
The Desert View Tower is located on Interstate 8, near Jacumba and Ocotillo, in western Imperial County, Southern California. It is at 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation, in the In-Ko-Pah Mountains.
The stone tower was built from 1922 to 1928 as a roadside attraction by Bert Vaughn, a real estate developer who owned Jacumba. The three story tower houses a museum and has an observation deck on its upper level. The gift shop at the base of the tower is a later addition.
An ensemble of stone sculptures of animal, called Boulder Park, is adjacent to Desert View Tower. They were sculpted by M.T. Ratliffe (or Radcliff) over two years during the 1930s in the local stone. Both the tower and sculpture garden are works of folk art.
The tower and sculpture garden were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1980. As folk art, the tower and garden were included in the Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments in California Multiple Property Submission.
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Wikipedia