Eliza Turner

What was once a luxurious retreat for the rich and famous is now forlorn and forgotten, a decaying husk of what it used to be. To anyone that drives by, this crumbling old building probably wouldn't seem like anything special. Just another closed down something or other. None would guess this was once one of the most desirable places to stay while vacationing at Lake Mead? Construction of the Lake Mead Lodge began in the late 1930s, shortly after Lake Mead itself came into being with the construction of the Hoover Dam. The hotel officially opened in October, 1941 as the Hualapai Lodge; it was the first hotel built along the shores of the new lake and instantly became a very popular tourist destination. Lake Mead was the first National Recreation Area in the United States, and the novelty of seeing one of the largest man-made lakes in the country as well as the dam that created it caused a massive influx of visitors to the area. For instance, there were 844,733 visitors to Lak...

The second diorama, "Setting the Stage" Who would have thought a quiet and unassuming neighborhood just off of Venice Boulevard in Culver City, California was hiding one of the most unique museums in Los Angeles? The Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita, or simply the Bhagavad-gita Museum as it is commonly known, is one of those off the beaten path locations that even many locals are unaware of, despite it having been there for nearly forty years. But what is it, exactly? The museum is more of an immersive spiritual experience than a traditional museum. Visitors proceed through a series of unlit rooms, demanding you give your full attention to each of the eleven dioramas. These dioramas are not just three dimensional displays; each one is accompanied by a narration and light show to enhance the effect of each scene. Each of these dioramas portray either a scene from the Bhagavad-gita or explains a concept of the belief system that has sprung it. The Bhagavad-gita is a r...

Cemeteries are interesting places; I love to explore them whenever possible and see what turns up. One day during one such walk in the Woodlawn Cemetery of Santa Monica, California one lone tomb stood out among the headstones and caught my attention. So, naturally, I took a closer look and found much more than just an old tomb. The exterior was painted and maintained but when I peered through the rusted gate it quickly become apparent that the inside of the tomb was in a bad state of neglect. The padlock was rusted and a faint cobweb linked it to the gate; it was obvious no one entered the tomb in many decades. The plaque identified the inhabitants as Markus D. Feather (12/18/1837-10/30/1910) and his wife, Susan J. Johnson (11/29/1854-5/26/1904). The masonic symbol indicated that Markus was a freemason and the star meant that Susan was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star (a co-ed masonic organization for Master Masons and their close female family members.) The ceme...

The photo in question. Original photographer unknown . A strange photo making its rounds about the internet shows a battleship protruding from the stony face of a cliff, flag raised and usually with the cryptic caption "Murmansk, Russia." It looks photoshopped, and many of the more critical views likely have chalked it up to such. I became intrigued by it and decided to do some research. The marking on the bow indicate it was a Soviet ship, and the flag is definitely red but too pixelated to see clearly. Logically, there is no way this ship could have crashed through a solid rock without suffering severe damage. There had to be more to the story… It turns out that this is not a real ship’s bow sticking out of the rock face, but rather a memorial. It commemorates a World War II battle known as the Liinakhamari Landing, and is dedicated to the Soviet sailors that lost their lives during the siege. The memorial was opened on the 30th anniversary of the battle, on Octobe...

While doing research for an upcoming bio-anthology—which will be hitting the shelves of The Forlorn Press soon—I stumbled upon an interesting article. I was browsing through newspaper stories for the Tensas Parish region of Louisiana from the 1890s when a title caught my eye, Burned Alive at the Stake . The article was completely unrelated to what I was searching for, but with a header like that I just had to read it anyway. Did I mention I’m a huge fan of True Crime and criminal history? The article turned out to be fairly short—I’ve transcribed it in full at the end of this post—but I was not disappointed. The gist of it was this: a local woman was sent out on an errand by her employer and never returned. A search ensued, and her mutilated body was found; a “tramp” was suspected of murdering her and summarily hunted down. Upon confessing, as the headline states, the tramp was burned alive while tied to a tree. I found a few things interesting about this newspaper article. Th...

A rare photo of the Clayton fumigating a house in 1914. The Clayton Disinfector was a fumigation device used to combat plague and other diseases spread by rats and insects in the early 20 th century. The device emitted sulfur-polyoxide gas, usually diluted to 10-12%. The Clayton worked by burning sulfur in the apparatus and blowing the gas through the fumigation tubes.  The gas passed through a device that cooled the gas before entering the area being fumigated. The gas was left for about eight to twelve hours before being removed. One pound of sulfur could be used to fumigate 400 cubic feet. The gas was effective against bubonic plague spores, cholera, and typhoid. In small doses, the gas actually worked as a preservative for meat and was not harmful to other food items, with the exception of fruits and vegetables and any type of liquid. The Clayton Disinfectors were used to disinfect cargo ships to ensure that they did not transport diseases from port to port. The...

I recently began writing for examiner.com as a freelance journalist. Today, my first article with them went live. I will be focusing on the unique places and people in the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area (my official title is “Las Vegas Places and Faces Examiner”). I have wanted to write about our local oddities and unique history for some time and this seems to be a good medium to do so through. Blame it on the scorching desert sun, but there is never a shortage of eccentrics here; from Howard Hughes to Lonnie Hammargren to Scotty’s Castle in nearby Death Valley, Southern Nevada is a mecca for the bizarre.   The link to my first article is below. It’s about Sloan Canyon, a local spot loaded with Native American petroglyphs, or rock art. Sloan Canyon has one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in North America! I have attached a few photos I took there as well. Here's the link: Sloan Canyon: The Sistine Chapel of rock art

Anyone who has even driven on Sandhill Road between Tropicana and Flamingo could not have missed the one strange wall with all sorts of things barely visible over it. Old casino signs, spaceships (some complete with little green men), and bizarre rickety structures are all visible in short bursts. Who lives there and what is all of that stuff, and—more importantly—who wouldn’t want to go inside and see what else is there? The house, well actually it’s three houses morphed into one, belonging to Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, a retired neurosurgeon and former Nevada Lt. Governor. Yes, he really does live there. The concept of this Las Vegas landmark is to preserve Nevada’s history via Dr. Hammargren’s personal collection. He purchases anything and everything that catches his interest. Some of it may be invaluable to resale, but these are overshadowed by the incredible rare pieces that he has. For instance, the original Batmobile sits in his garage; the roller coaster from the top of the ...