The Massive City That Doesn't Exist...

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  • Опубликовано: 9 июн 2020
  • Deep in the Mojave Desert of California, sits California City, what appears on a map to be an enormous metropolis. But in reality, the thousands of miles of roads hold few buildings, and the third largest city in the state is home to just 14,000 people. This is the story of California City - one of the strangest towns on Earth...
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Комментарии • 673

  • @krystalbrooks6869
    @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +195

    I grew up in Mojave and California City from around 1980 to 1992.
    When we lived in California City at the time they did not have a school. So people would be bussed to Mojave.
    The population growth was due to the California State Prison (which you showed on a map but never discussed). Some of the people I went to high school with work there. California City now has a school system of their own.
    We were in California because our father worked at Edwards Air Force base and Area51. We had our own airplane, so being at California City Airport or the Mojave Airport was a daily thing.
    At California City Airport, there used to be a restaurant called the Readyroom. Pilots would fly in just to get a bite. The number 1 burger was called the Rat Flink, this burger was as big as the plate. You had to smash the burger down just to try and get a bite. The biggest thing that made the Readyroom so great was the old memorabilia. Just like in the movie The Right Stuff, there were old memories of test pilots all over the walls. It was a place of history. This restaurant burned down.
    The city had a meeting to shut down the airport and invest instead in the golf course. The problem was the golf course was losing money while the airport kept the golf course running...lol
    Lucky they approved the new terminal and restaurant. I was there for their opening day...😞. It was one of the worst grand openings I've been to.
    The skydiving school has been shut down. When ever you heard an ambulance, you knew a body hit the ground.
    One of the families we know makes full scale aircraft for museums and movies.
    I help build a F-117 for the movie Executive Decision. One day a military helicopter from Edwards flying over California City Airport noticed the F-117. Called Edwards to notify about a downed F-117. We heard sirens and thought another body hit the ground. But this time, they were here for us.
    After all the commotion was over. We were told what a great job we did on building the F-117.
    A movie was made at California City Airport called "Into the Sun". During a scene in the movie they start blowing up hangers. These hangers were not real hangers. But we felt the boom all the way to our house. The movie actually sucks.
    If you want to watch movies being made. Going to Mojave Airport is your best bet. I was lucky enough to be there when they were filming Airwolf. I was allowed to sit inside of airwolf.
    I spent most of my time as a teenager going from hanger to hanger sweeping to make extra money.
    I do miss the desert from time to time or actually I miss the memories. In California City they hold their annual tortoise day parade. This was a family event. You had paddle boat races for the kids, cookouts and everything. Mostly paid by the companies that had you stationed there.
    California City it is illegal to kill a tortoise. They are or were on the endangered list.
    I've watched a few aircraft hit the desert floor. One day coming back from Cantill, we watched an F-16 hit the ground big fireball. It took Edwards a couple of months to clean up the mess.
    The homeless live in dwellings they dug out of the desert and put plywood over it. On a hot day the ground is cool. You only have enough room to crawl and sit in.

    • @MTPatriot1787
      @MTPatriot1787 3 года назад +29

      Thanks for sharing. Pretty cool information.

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +9

      Thoughs were the times where swimming dance class baseball etc was free with the Mcard. The movie was open then also. But is now a business office. My older brother went to the middle .We both went to Robert P Ulrich elementary.

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +20

      @@austindreher2791 in CalCity we mostly went to the movies at the strip mall and behind there was a bowling alley.
      When we were in Mojave, we would go swimming at the building between the elementary school and the high school.
      In the 5th grade I knew the White's. They owned White's motel next to the highway.
      Mark would bring the small bottles of alcohol and during recess we would get a popsicle. Drink the alcohol and lick the popsicle.
      We would also go over to Frito lays after they dumped all the product they threw away and collect them. They put an end to that...lol

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +4

      @@krystalbrooks6869 Yes my Mom said when she was in High school for PE the class would swim there and sometimes have dances in the gym. My brother would of been the first class to graduate from from Cal City high but we moved. We moved alot. Well my brother and my Mom moved back to Cal City a couple times before we all left for good. Seems alot of people do that. Guess Mom couldn't decide between Cal City and Vegas. But the Midwest won the decision lol.

    • @michaelmcgilvry7123
      @michaelmcgilvry7123 3 года назад +4

      Krystal i also lived in Mojave and California city and my dad worked at Mojave airport and Edwards air force base. i graduated in 83 and moved back to Missouri in july of 83 and i haven't been back to California since. my dad moved to manitou springs co in 1984 he worked for the city from 1986 to 2003 and moved about 25 east of downtown Kansas city where they still currently live.

  • @JoshTehYoda
    @JoshTehYoda 3 года назад +351

    When you plan your city in Cities Skylines but forget to watch your budget

    • @MrKEMills
      @MrKEMills 3 года назад +7

      I just go into the saved game file and edit the amount of money I have. I haven’t worried about my finances since.

    • @ytube.agusss
      @ytube.agusss 3 года назад +3

      Call in Biffa

    • @XhaustionYT
      @XhaustionYT 3 года назад +1

      @@MrKEMills might as well just turn on unlimited money then.

    • @MrKEMills
      @MrKEMills 3 года назад +1

      @@XhaustionYT Actually, I just remembered I turned on unlimited money. The save game file edit is for a different game I play.

    • @heirofthenazareen3812
      @heirofthenazareen3812 3 года назад +1

      Lol :-) That's happened to me af ew times. Building roads, deleting, building, deleting.... do that a while and suddenly you're bankrupt.

  • @adityashrestha2774
    @adityashrestha2774 4 года назад +819

    Abbandoned city skylines project after messing up the roads

    • @soberhippie
      @soberhippie 3 года назад +18

      Call in Biffa!

    • @andrewspielman1921
      @andrewspielman1921 3 года назад +7

      Exactly what I was thinking... something Biffa can fix I’m sure.

    • @Icey_Sxnny
      @Icey_Sxnny 3 года назад +2

      I’m pretty sure I made that city 3 times

    • @Covid-bv4hp
      @Covid-bv4hp 3 года назад +5

      pov: people start building from the side without electricity

    • @Lyarrah
      @Lyarrah 3 года назад

      "what do you mean not enough mo- oh no I didn't put water pumps"

  • @GeographyWorld
    @GeographyWorld 4 года назад +458

    Never heard about this before. Very interesting.

    • @ErinRaciell
      @ErinRaciell 4 года назад +2

      Wait at 2:50 thats LA? I didnt know it had mountains with snow 🤔

    • @sawlessflawless2085
      @sawlessflawless2085 4 года назад +6

      I guess you could say, that is interesting.

    • @oscarkronborg7176
      @oscarkronborg7176 4 года назад

      @@ErinRaciell prolly Photoshop

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +3

      @@ErinRaciell it snows in Tehachapi which is about 30 minutes away from Cal City. But most people go to Mamath

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +1

      @Willie Cooke I remember that saying..lol
      It's been so long since I've heard that....lol

  • @MadNotAngry
    @MadNotAngry 3 года назад +174

    Failed to mention the biggest reason not to move here: This entire area is considered a floodplain - yep in the middle of the desert - and homeowners are required to pay for flood insurance ... in an area that averages less than 8 inches of rainfall.
    We also broke record heat levels this very summer. So there's that.

    • @Coygon
      @Coygon 3 года назад +29

      8 inches is a lot if it all comes at once.

    • @perdition79
      @perdition79 3 года назад +26

      @@Coygon I see what you did there, even if it was unintentional entendre.

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +12

      Really?? I didn't have flood insurance for my house. Palmdale , Lancaster and Quartz Hill flood. Ive never seen Cal City flood in the 38years I've been there. Now weird sand storms seen a few of them.
      Most people leave because of jobs.

    • @babydriver8134
      @babydriver8134 3 года назад +1

      A friend lives in North Edwards.
      Home paid for.
      Still required (law) to have flood ins.

    • @Rhaspun
      @Rhaspun 3 года назад +1

      @@D73GT I don't if that person still lives in California City. But a big lottery winner won a ticket a couple of years ago. Over $200 million.

  • @KarmasAB123
    @KarmasAB123 3 года назад +134

    So this is the real life equivalent of someone expanding too quickly in SimCity.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @KarmasAB123
      @KarmasAB123 3 года назад

      @@rudy103069 Interesting video, but it barely said anything. Can you tell me more?

  • @johnharris6655
    @johnharris6655 3 года назад +18

    This actually happened a lot during the housing bust of the early 2000's. Developers put in roads and even traffic light but no houses. I taught my daughter how to drive on those streets. They were legal to drive on but no houses.

  • @AverytheCubanAmerican
    @AverytheCubanAmerican 4 года назад +411

    The story of a city that's not really a city. Now that, that is interesting

    • @Hollywood2021
      @Hollywood2021 3 года назад +8

      So many empty roads...someday they'll be lined with Toyota Corollas

    • @hmoobmeeka
      @hmoobmeeka 3 года назад +6

      Its avery the cuban american

    • @jsonattard2179
      @jsonattard2179 3 года назад +4

      hey Kim Jong-un

    • @ShadowReaper-pu2hx
      @ShadowReaper-pu2hx 3 года назад +1

      I know you from Drew Durnil’s video’s’ comment sections.

    • @kilroyishere6190
      @kilroyishere6190 3 года назад

      @@Hollywood2021 Agenda 21...in Mexifornia.../Everyone will be forced into High Rise Ghettos.....Its already started....Banning Fossil Fuel Vehicles is the start...No More Commuters...Cal City will be what its always been...A Dusty ,Barren, unpopulated ,Desert Shithole..

  • @darubicon1501
    @darubicon1501 3 года назад +83

    “I'll show you a place
    High on the desert plain, yeah
    Where the streets have no name,”
    - U2

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @californiamade5608
      @californiamade5608 3 года назад +1

      They do have names

    • @jackgeiger9652
      @jackgeiger9652 3 года назад

      That was a Joshua Tree reference, not California City.

  • @reneehover6543
    @reneehover6543 3 года назад +46

    This is where I grew up. I moved out in 1999. When I moved out there was only a small convenience/grocery store, which we usually travelled to Mojave to go grocery shopping, there was a few banks and a couple pizza places. There was an elementary school and when I entered into the 7th grade it had just opened the middle school. That was about it. For high school I had to travel to Mojave.
    I have recently been back there and it now has McDonald’s and dollar general and family dollar. There was even a hotel there now. It has developed more since I have moved out but I do not miss being there.

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +2

      There was a motel there when I lived there in the 80's. It was NE of the park.

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +2

      When my Mom lived there she went to Jr high ( middle school )and High in Mojave. The bowling alley was there and the movie theater. No fast food places yet though. And my Grampa worked at the Lakeshore Inn and the Silver Saddle for a while. But he had the Conestoga for years.

    • @reneehover6543
      @reneehover6543 3 года назад +2

      @@austindreher2791 I remember the bowling alley and movie theater. We moved out of cal city for three years and the movie theater closed while we were gone. I don’t remember when the bowling alley closed.

    • @appliancetraining
      @appliancetraining 3 года назад

      Living in tehachapi around 1978, yeah we had to go out there to see a movie, cause ours closed down.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @vgovger4373
    @vgovger4373 3 года назад +130

    Someday in the future, they will think the lines were runways for spaceships and the chariots of the gods....lol

    • @gittyupalice96
      @gittyupalice96 3 года назад +5

      At the rate the population is increasing, every square inch of the planet will be developed including California city.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @davidgil6485
      @davidgil6485 3 года назад +12

      @@gittyupalice96 it won't, because although there is an absurd amount of space (half of the US is empty for isntance) there is not nearly as many resources available

    • @sinenominee1454
      @sinenominee1454 3 года назад +6

      @@gittyupalice96 if the US fits the model for a rich country the population should decrease in the next few years as the average amount of kids per family drops below 2. It is a problem in Europe and it should be happening in the US as well. The population growth is coming from poorer countries like south Sudan.

  • @i05CrafterGames
    @i05CrafterGames 4 года назад +290

    *Atlantis has left the chat*

    • @ShadowReaper-pu2hx
      @ShadowReaper-pu2hx 3 года назад

      Coruscant too.

    • @jjsdumbshit2792
      @jjsdumbshit2792 3 года назад

      @@ShadowReaper-pu2hx what

    • @ShadowReaper-pu2hx
      @ShadowReaper-pu2hx 3 года назад

      @@jjsdumbshit2792, it’s a planet from Star Wars and the whole planet or pretty much the whole thing is one big city, even parts under the surface.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @liamgkelly
      @liamgkelly 3 года назад

      @@rudy103069 you know what’s good 🤙

  • @Z.DeAllen
    @Z.DeAllen 3 года назад +11

    I remember moving to New Mexico when I joined the Air Force, and my car almost ran out of gas right around here. I took the closest exit off of 14 because I saw tons of roads on the map, only to find a damn near ghost town. There was a police officer in a beat up dusty 1980s cruiser, and that's it. He told me there was no gas station. I barely made it to the next exit where there was one. Wild trip.

    • @tillitsdone
      @tillitsdone Год назад +3

      Sounds like the beginning of a Twilight Zone episode.

  • @rafetizer
    @rafetizer 3 года назад +51

    But then they realized, what the hell are we doing building a giant city in the middle of the desert

    • @Max_Griswald
      @Max_Griswald 3 года назад +16

      Las Vegas hasn't gotten the memo yet.

    • @Direwolf9818
      @Direwolf9818 3 года назад +13

      @@Max_Griswald or Phoenix

    • @PWingert1966
      @PWingert1966 3 года назад

      What is building in a desert that is in the middle of a city?

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @user-ty2uz4gb7v
      @user-ty2uz4gb7v 3 года назад +2

      @@Max_Griswald would anyone go to Las Vegas if it wasn't an adult disneyland?

  • @chardtomp
    @chardtomp 3 года назад +142

    Where was he planning to get water for a city that big? Hasn't that always been an issue in California?

    • @K.B.Williams
      @K.B.Williams 3 года назад +8

      Same way Phoenix gets water I assume

    • @Jhelm
      @Jhelm 3 года назад +9

      You didn't hear him say... they fly the water from central park New York...

    • @chardtomp
      @chardtomp 3 года назад +24

      @@Jhelm That was just for the lake in their park.

    • @nelsonricardo3729
      @nelsonricardo3729 3 года назад +7

      @@Jhelm We want our water back!

    • @bobina05
      @bobina05 3 года назад +12

      Theft I'm sure. That's how SoCal usually gets water.

  • @joshschiesler1016
    @joshschiesler1016 3 года назад +3

    I have a friend from cal city. Homeboy literally spent his life savings on an old minivan and drove halfway across the country to Michigan, completely away from family, just to leave cal city. I cannot hold a conversation with him without cal city coming up in some negative context at least every ten minutes. Dude really hates cal city.

  • @ArlanWareham
    @ArlanWareham 3 года назад +7

    When I was a teenager, my parents "won" a free weekend in California City. Of course, it was really a hard-sell attempt to get them to buy property there, which they actually resisted quite easily. Nevertheless, I remember staying in a nice mobile home and enjoying paddle-boating on the lake in Central Park.

  • @goldenrepublic6848
    @goldenrepublic6848 4 года назад +116

    Sad to see this city not work out

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +9

      Some of the locals call it Cal City or excuse my bad word Cal Shitty. I grew up there it was Great in the 80's but now it does suck. But many of the people I went to school with still live there

    • @itzpro5951
      @itzpro5951 3 года назад +9

      It would probably just look like a bland suburb in the middle of the desert like Phoenix

    • @lamontjohnson5810
      @lamontjohnson5810 3 года назад +11

      No it's not. This was the middle of the desert. We don't need any more big cities in the desert out West. Water and utilities issues as it is.

    • @nickangelpadilla
      @nickangelpadilla 3 года назад

      @Austin Martín Hernández how was it tried in New jersey?

    • @hangukhiphop
      @hangukhiphop 3 года назад +1

      @Austin Martín Hernández quite the opposite actually. The fact that businesses wouldn't set up shop in "untested" areas is exactly one of the major weaknesses of the private sector. A publicly funded initiative with business subsidies would have likely worked out much better.

  • @LarryTheTubaBoy
    @LarryTheTubaBoy 3 года назад +38

    California City is located not in the Antelope Valley - that lies south-southwest of the Fremont Valley, where California City is actually situated. Sincerely, a resident of the Mojave Desert.

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +1

      Simple...the Antelope valley mall is in Lancaster. SW of CalCity, about 45 mins away. Edwards is SE about 15 mins.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @timothyjohns1511
      @timothyjohns1511 3 года назад +2

      @@krystalbrooks6869The AV Mall is in Palmdale. Sincerely, a Lancaster resident.

  • @derekloweree2520
    @derekloweree2520 3 года назад +33

    i drove through there yesterday and was so confused when i saw no buildings

    • @johnnybravo-ir3ev
      @johnnybravo-ir3ev 3 года назад +2

      Bullshit

    • @corsacs3879
      @corsacs3879 3 года назад +10

      @@johnnybravo-ir3ev bullshit that someone drove through a town?

    • @futurefruit8281
      @futurefruit8281 3 года назад +1

      IDK where you were driving, unless it was unpaved, because the only paved road definitely has buildings on it.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад +4

      @@futurefruit8281 probably hwy. 58. That’s how I usually drive through it and you cross and see loads of dirt streets with nothing on them.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @Delosian
    @Delosian 3 года назад +38

    In the meantime we turn our best growing land into housing.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @gr8rubs
    @gr8rubs 3 года назад +3

    I learned of this city when my car broke down and had to be towed for repair. California City was the nearest town. It was a creepy experience and I never want to return.

  • @KatTheScribe
    @KatTheScribe 3 года назад +5

    This reminds me of driving along 14, 138, 395, and seeing the 100's of "Avenues", dirt roads with maybe a small shack visible at the end. Lancaster and Palmdale have expanded since then, but I honestly never knew much about California City. Thanks for the interesting video.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @Neurotoxin76
    @Neurotoxin76 3 года назад +32

    “Water, water, water…. There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand, insuring that wide free open, generous spacing among plants and animals, homes and towns and cities, which makes the arid West so different from any other part of the nation. There is no lack of water here unless you try to establish a city where no city should be.” -Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

    • @totocall1999
      @totocall1999 3 года назад +1

      One of America’s greatest philosophers.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @jameskirk9685
    @jameskirk9685 3 года назад

    Very well made video! Thank you very much for such great ad placement! No ads lazily tossed into the content at random. It was a pleasure to watch your video! Thanks again.

  • @oscarkronborg7176
    @oscarkronborg7176 4 года назад +196

    Was about to say first, but then I remembered I have a brain

    • @matiastoledo4201
      @matiastoledo4201 4 года назад +4

      LMAO

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @sutchsteve
      @sutchsteve 3 года назад +2

      @@rudy103069 may i ask why you're spamming this link on all of the comments.

    • @AnguishedMan
      @AnguishedMan 3 года назад

      First

    • @charlesrockafellor4200
      @charlesrockafellor4200 3 года назад

      @@rudy103069 Yes, JonLevi was the first thing that I thought of too, but shouldn't you have simply made that its own comment instead of a reply to another comment? Also, if you wrote what that link was, it'd draw more traffic. Most people don't click a link without a reason.

  • @lak9ers674
    @lak9ers674 3 года назад +21

    I remember as a kid. Erik Estrada had commercials trying to sell u land there.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @ryancuda45
      @ryancuda45 3 года назад

      i member

  • @californiamade5608
    @californiamade5608 3 года назад +2

    I’m from California born and raised. I travel to the Mojave a lot to see my significant half. I’m so glad they didn’t build a city in the desert. The air is always crystal clear, no pollution. Driving from the desert into LA, you can see the skies go from blue to grey. Imagine how bad the pollution would be in the desert? California City would’ve ended up like LA and San Francisco. A big skyline with nice areas, filled with bad areas, homeless, high rents, & corruption. Minus the beaches. But then who knows. Maybe the town will eventually grow out into the city it was dreamed to be.

  • @Terrus_38
    @Terrus_38 4 года назад +88

    Haha, I knew about it from Tom Scott, but nonetheless, nice to watch this video.

    • @yerdasellsavon9232
      @yerdasellsavon9232 4 года назад +6

      The master Tom our lord and saviour

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @Littlegoatpaws
    @Littlegoatpaws 3 года назад +4

    I've seen this place overhead by plane many times going over the Mojave and was always perplexed by it until I saw some article about it and realized this was what I was looking at. I've also driven through the area en route to Yucca Valley. You can see them well from above but not very much from the ground which is why a lot of people don't know they're there.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @NoSlow78
    @NoSlow78 3 года назад

    Gotta make a video on California ghost towns and the gold rush leftovers and interesting places like Placerville, Downeyville, Coloma, Locke. I love your videos! Dude! Great stuff!

  • @captainbryce1
    @captainbryce1 3 года назад +15

    I used to live in Cal City back when I was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, lol.

    • @DT-sb9sv
      @DT-sb9sv 3 года назад

      The Green Tea rocked cheap beers and Buddhas and happy cats next to the liquor behind the bar and .25 Pool.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @marcom6089
    @marcom6089 3 года назад +3

    I love these videos. Thank you for your awesome work.

  • @carlthornton3076
    @carlthornton3076 3 года назад +3

    I heard about California City about 10 years ago. I keep coming across videos & other materials about it every few months. I believe that it will be a very large populated city one day.

  • @Dan-pd9ys
    @Dan-pd9ys 3 года назад +1

    I had to google map this to fact check it because it seemed too crazy, and then the empty dirt roads appeared all over my google map screen. This is incredible!!!!

  • @memepolice6687
    @memepolice6687 4 года назад +4

    Great quality as always

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @loganhanssler4419
    @loganhanssler4419 3 года назад +8

    Holy hell this channel is underrated. I expect it to blow up within the year

  • @TheKukulkan
    @TheKukulkan 3 года назад +1

    My family are "proud" owners of a parcel in California City. Most people don't know where this is, but every year I have some developer call and enquire about selling this lot for pennies...this place will always entice people for whatever reason, but nothing will ever come out of it.

  • @wintonhudelson2252
    @wintonhudelson2252 3 года назад +3

    Drive past the turnoff to Cal City fairly often on 58 or 395 but have never actually driven in Cal City. Believe I'll take the time and see for myself..thank you, very interesting.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад +1

      I drive past it on 58 every so often. I’m usually in a hurry so have never had time to stop.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@danieldaniels7571 ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @edgm.14
    @edgm.14 3 года назад +2

    *2:36** woah!* "Says channel name out loud"
    You're videos are great and you deserve more subs. It's crazy how LA has grown

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @originalZzZ
    @originalZzZ 3 года назад +46

    Nope wrong
    Minecraft builders just forgot to finish their city world.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @roadtoad7704
    @roadtoad7704 3 года назад +37

    Sounds like Chinese urban "planning:" Build it, and they will come." 😂🦄

    • @IznbranahlGoose
      @IznbranahlGoose 3 года назад +7

      The big difference is that in China they actually built the buildings and paved the roads. These are just empty land plots and dirt roads. Nonetheless, like China, a lot of these land plots were sold as 'investment properties' to naive Easterners and Midwesterners

    • @pete1853
      @pete1853 3 года назад +2

      @@JohnAlexanderiii - i don't think they ever did fill some of those cities. ADVChina showed a "ghost city" that was almost totally empty and the buildings were already crumbling.

    • @Rhaspun
      @Rhaspun 3 года назад +1

      @@IznbranahlGoose This type of then happened in an area near the SF Bay Area. A developer thought he was going to build up an area but he neglected to get water rights. It reminds me of what I see in this video.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

    • @Tux.Penguin
      @Tux.Penguin 3 года назад

      @@pete1853
      Yep, I watched that one. So much interesting stuff on their channel.

  • @SecretTougeCult
    @SecretTougeCult 3 года назад

    Great video!

  • @closmasmas9080
    @closmasmas9080 4 года назад +23

    Man I would love to go running/biking around on those nice dirt roads.

    • @elwoodblues9613
      @elwoodblues9613 3 года назад +4

      I researched California City a few years ago, and found that, in "Second City" (the undeveloped portion of California City), there is indeed a BMX and dirt bike area in the eastern portion. Apparently it's pretty popular, and I think the city officially welcomes this subculture.

    • @P31B
      @P31B 3 года назад +1

      I’ve ran through there on my run from the Pacific to Atlantic Ocean. It’s pretty cool. It’s super flat, literally just dirt and dry bushes on the side of the roads. Only other people I saw were people working for PG&E.

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +2

      We road our dirt bikes all over the desert. There was a law in California City that you couldn't ride your dirt bike on the streets. You had to push your bike. So, we would get up as much speed and as we got to the road, we turned the bikes off and coasted home...lol

    • @turtleneckferret
      @turtleneckferret 3 года назад

      Then do it dummy

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @Himesua
    @Himesua 2 года назад +1

    There's a podcast about this place. I happened stumbled upon it, so you may be able to find it if you google it. However, the podcast talked about how agents promoted to immigrants, and retirees. People who wanted to moved out here and build homes or businesses were scammed out of their savings. It's really sad to hear the story.

  • @paulwalker1443
    @paulwalker1443 3 года назад +1

    The most fascinating part of California City is it IS an actual city, though very small. Equally fascinating is you can see the remnants of the planned street grid even today.

  • @kingdomseeker88
    @kingdomseeker88 3 года назад +4

    3:25 I can't even begin to imagine why anyone would think the super high desert would rival the perfect weather & beaches of Los Angeles 🤔

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад +1

      Cheaper land

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

    • @larsedik
      @larsedik 2 года назад

      Also consider the winds that you would have to put up with in California City, creating sandstorms that could close roads and fill swimming pools with sand.

    • @the.abhiram.r
      @the.abhiram.r Год назад

      los angeles is a pretty terrible city to move to imo

  • @salsheikh4508
    @salsheikh4508 3 года назад

    Thank You! Never knew about this

  • @michelleannor6944
    @michelleannor6944 3 года назад +41

    Could solve homeless problem in San Fran and LA...

    • @Golden2962
      @Golden2962 3 года назад +5

      Not really they're still not gonna be able to buy homes

    • @stlcardinals380
      @stlcardinals380 3 года назад +4

      @@Golden2962 the government could contract the homeless to do jobs out there and build some section 8 housing for them to start. They can save up and buy a home that they themselves get paid to do. Grows the community and gives more people a chance at success

    • @missmegan3694
      @missmegan3694 3 года назад +8

      Maybe after they kick their drug habits, right? Oh, and then they might need to develop the motivation to hold a full-time job...

    • @michelleannor6944
      @michelleannor6944 3 года назад +5

      @@Golden2962 Use temporary and pre-fab structures, or shipping container drums. They could be trained to do remote digital work.

    • @michelleannor6944
      @michelleannor6944 3 года назад +1

      @Billy Ray Valentine Maybe. But California City is vacant and there is a surfeit of people in LA and San Francisco. Sometimes doing the same thing a bit differently can weald differing results.

  • @phoenixdoglover9403
    @phoenixdoglover9403 3 года назад +4

    There is a worse failed development in the desert east of El Paso, Texas. Horizon City and a vast area east of that...just fading dirt roads and a scattering of homes. This was a land scheme, in which lots of people in the midwest were sold small plots, with promises of good roads and services. Now, there are thousands of plots with murky ownership records, and El Paso is hamstrung to take appropriate actions because of the land title issues. From Google satellite view it is bizarre. On the ground, it is mostly empty and depressing.

    • @frankrevelo2
      @frankrevelo2 3 года назад +2

      2% property tax in Texas, right? After a few decades, most of those plots should be consolidated due to proprty tax defaults and purchase by speculators.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад +1

      Wow, that is bizarre. And looks to be way larger than California City.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@frankrevelo2 ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @Transmatrix
    @Transmatrix 3 года назад +2

    I'm from this city. Lived here from birth to about 10 years of age (1980-1990).

  • @scottanthony4511
    @scottanthony4511 3 года назад +1

    And now you know why developers are required (in most States) to build everything, including paved roads, sewer, water lines, storm sewers, etc. before they can officially plat a new development. So many blunders like this in the past, and cities have to deal with the consequences of greedy developers who want to spend the absolute minimum required by law in order to sell lots to suckers.

  • @Greaseball68
    @Greaseball68 3 года назад

    Brilliant, I love it when I learn something new. Really excellent vid

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @scottishboi6035
    @scottishboi6035 4 года назад +5

    Nice video

  • @FourFourSeven
    @FourFourSeven 3 года назад +5

    _"...Nat Mendelson, a real estate developer....and _*_*a professor at Columbia....*_*_ "_
    _"There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.”_
    ~George Orwell

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/RqfcOG9EuYo/видео.html

  • @johnpotter8039
    @johnpotter8039 3 года назад

    Growing up in Southern California, I remember the radio jingle "Buy a piece of the Golden State, and you'll be sitting pretty, in California City". My parents were given a free tour of another one of those huckster developments, "Hisperia". Fortunately they didn't buy in.

  • @DrenTheLiar
    @DrenTheLiar 3 года назад +1

    I can't help but think, if we actually invested in our own country instead of funding wars and government toys, we could and SHOULD further develop California City. We really need to start spreading out from each other. We have plenty of room to do so. We're not overpopulated, we're just packed in way too tightly anymore.

  • @oliviawyatt9730
    @oliviawyatt9730 Год назад +1

    I lived there for 6 years. I bought a manufactured home for $25,000. In 2012. I upgraded it and sold it in 2019 for $144,000. Then I left the state and bought a beautiful place in another state.

    • @seriouslywtf4790
      @seriouslywtf4790 3 месяца назад

      I mean, this is the thing. Even Cal City is going up. If you buy cheap land and slap a mobile on it, you're going to make a profit. Palmdale/Lancaster has driven out the people who can only afford a $200k or less house, so they've got to go somewhere. I bought in Palmdale and my place is zooming up in value. People laugh about the high desert but there's plenty of money to be made out here.

  • @ericmahoney9750
    @ericmahoney9750 3 года назад +8

    Wow youtube finally fixed their algorithm! nice video

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @fakshen1973
    @fakshen1973 3 года назад +1

    Interesting. Advice: your outro music is way louder than your narration. So you can probably bring up the level of your narration. The outro music can be a touch louder than the narration. Otherwise the music leaves people scrambling for the volume control.

  • @LilRy21
    @LilRy21 3 года назад +2

    I like how its only 6 mins which means its not long until your straight to the point

  • @bryede
    @bryede 3 года назад

    This reminds me of Port Saint Lucie, FL. It was designed as a major city by General Development Corp. sometime in the '60s and '70s, I believe, but after they went bankrupt it lay as a 100 square mile maze of vacant, deteriorating roads in the woods until things boomed in the '90s and now it's one of Florida's major population centers.

  • @visekual6248
    @visekual6248 3 года назад +2

    Now this is a place that I need to visit, not because of the city or history, where most people see an undeveloped city with dirt streets, I see a giant playground.

    • @JayCrash450
      @JayCrash450 3 года назад +2

      It is a giant playground. It has pretty much become a major off-road destination for people in SoCal. We regularly camp east of here near Randsburg mining/ghost town but it’s fun ride over to Cal city and shoot around a bunch of empty roads with nothing but street signs.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@JayCrash450 ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @Backwardsman95
    @Backwardsman95 3 года назад +1

    Sad but not too surprising. Cities grow organically sometimes over centuries. I wouldn't expect one to be designed and become popular overnight.

  • @IznbranahlGoose
    @IznbranahlGoose 3 года назад +1

    There are similar setups outside of other desert cities out west. Extensive planned developments that just never happened and are now mostly dirt roads with no houses and no utilities.

  • @michaelchitwood389
    @michaelchitwood389 3 года назад +4

    I lived in Cal City (early 90's).It was fun to drive around those vacant subdivisions. Red Rock canyon is not far, and obsidian fields are very close too. I taught painting under a professor at the Cerro Coso College extension. Other than the prevalence of meth, it was a fun place.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад

      Others would argue the prevalence of meth is what makes it a fun place.

    • @michaelchitwood389
      @michaelchitwood389 3 года назад +1

      @@danieldaniels7571 lol! Yeah...many argued that back then...as now, surely!

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@michaelchitwood389 ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @amrice62
    @amrice62 3 года назад +1

    Very interesting!!!!

  • @yerdasellsavon9232
    @yerdasellsavon9232 4 года назад +35

    Imagine if does become a city

    • @theorangeofallahpbuh1840
      @theorangeofallahpbuh1840 3 года назад +5

      Never will, there won’t be enough water

    • @krystalbrooks6869
      @krystalbrooks6869 3 года назад +1

      City planners have their heads up their ass.

    • @austindreher2791
      @austindreher2791 3 года назад +6

      I grew up in Cal City. Never had water issues Pipes yes. Most are reused from Lancaster.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

    • @californiamade5608
      @californiamade5608 3 года назад

      @@theorangeofallahpbuh1840 trust and believe. Water is NOT an issue. The city has a chance of being a real city/destination.

  • @danielgoodson703
    @danielgoodson703 3 года назад +1

    Worked there for a number of years. Windy. The crane operators early on would complain about 30 mph winds. Later in the project, they were flying equipment in 60 mph without batting an eye. CHP would close down 58 I believe... due to high winds. The locals would drive cars, trucks, atvs, ect at breakneck speeds along the railroad into town. The Mojave Green snake, Burrowing owls, unexploded ordinance/practice ordinance....Not a place for folks who are not ready to deal with unforgiving desert climate. (much harsher than the pictures show). Personally found California City and its climate spectacular. Other worldly and unapologetic. Not for everyone, but for those who can adapt, amazing.

  • @jevinday
    @jevinday 4 года назад +1

    I love your channel man!

    • @ThatIsInterestingTII
      @ThatIsInterestingTII  4 года назад

      Glad to hear it!

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@ThatIsInterestingTII ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @BobDiaz123
    @BobDiaz123 3 года назад

    I've been there. My brother in law flew us out there in a small aircraft. It's the best way to get the feel of the road layout and not much else.

  • @MrGoodaches
    @MrGoodaches 3 года назад +4

    There is a city size area of streets but no buildings right next to El Paso TX. Looks just like what you're showing in this vid in CA. I've tried without success to get the story about the El Paso neighbor.

    • @maybachtruck6008
      @maybachtruck6008 3 года назад

      in which direction from EP?

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @@maybachtruck6008 ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @PersonalDynamics
    @PersonalDynamics 3 года назад

    ^_^ LOL Title of the video should be - "The City Counsel does not want to grow the city", that would be MORE apropos. A friend urged me to come out, get away from LA. This place is sooooo interesting I decided I should write an ENTIRE "Book" on this place alone!? I live here and have been here for about 6 years now. Never heard of this "Mendelson" you bring up but then the "Founders" probably removed his name. I'm pointing out that what they teach in school (here and at the Historical Society) this city was "Founded" by these (12) Families and this is when it begins to get VERY INTERESTING!? Great video, I like the back drop on the history and filling in the "______________", thanx.

  • @clairekennedy8767
    @clairekennedy8767 3 года назад

    That’s so cool and crazy. Bakersfield is growing so maybe this area will too

  • @michaeltnk1135
    @michaeltnk1135 4 года назад +4

    I always drive past there on my way to Mammoth Mountain, the city interests me so much

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @r5LgxTbQ
    @r5LgxTbQ 3 года назад +1

    it may be a failed desert city but house prices are still higher per square foot than my midsize midwestern city. oh, California.

  • @nobodyspecial2718
    @nobodyspecial2718 3 года назад +1

    that is cyberspace. it is definitely there, but you can't take a bus to get there and there's no asphalt on the streets

  • @jamesburgess6211
    @jamesburgess6211 3 года назад

    It was a project that did not really work out. I used to live near by and it was a lot of fun to drive around the “city” in our 4x4s.

  • @chiefrainingstereotype.4184
    @chiefrainingstereotype.4184 4 года назад +10

    Lehigh acres in Florida is a fun one too!

  • @JonSwimmer
    @JonSwimmer 4 года назад +1

    Great story!

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @paulyiustravelogue
    @paulyiustravelogue 3 года назад

    I love ghost towns and obscure places, that’s interesting, cheers.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @jc1400
    @jc1400 3 года назад

    I grew up about 50 miles away and knew nothing about this area. It’s never mentioned. I asked my dad about this, he knew about it from his time in the military, but he thought it was an abandoned town. There are many of those in the desert. Water source dries up and everyone leaves.

  • @jackrowe5571
    @jackrowe5571 3 года назад +1

    Muscle Shoals ,AL, jad the same thing. Developed itself out of competition, raising prices, until Ford changed his plans to develop Detroit. Until recently Ford City was empty except for street signs, fire hydrants and unpaved roads.

  • @JennRighter
    @JennRighter 3 года назад

    This is Masaman with a different channel, right? Or have I lost my mind?
    Or both 🤣

  • @terranrepublic7023
    @terranrepublic7023 3 года назад

    Feels like a great place to build a Sim town, making a life sized Strangetown or Lucky Palms there would be awesome

  • @indianne9781
    @indianne9781 3 года назад +4

    My former father in law was “vice mayor” of Cal city back in the early 80’s.

    • @craigcarter400
      @craigcarter400 3 года назад

      Probably Drinking, Gambling, Smoking, Drugs

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      @Sergeant Preston ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @jamesmccreery250
    @jamesmccreery250 3 года назад +11

    Deep in the Mojave you say? How about, right at the very edge of the Mojave.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 3 года назад

      This video is clearly made by someone who’s never been there

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @captalks6209
    @captalks6209 3 года назад +1

    If it would be possible to create a dirtbike/offroad race course, that would be sick af

  • @ardalla535
    @ardalla535 3 года назад +3

    Just a brief glimpse of the map of CA reveals that cities NOT on the coast don't fare nearly as well. Certainly not one in the middle of the desert. One could say that Phoenix is also in the middle of nowhere, but there are good reasons for Phoenix to exist where it is. CA City? No so much.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @MausMasher54
    @MausMasher54 3 года назад

    Wow, I have driven thru there so many times and never noticed this, probably due to passing by in the dark...

  • @RickFidelisReed
    @RickFidelisReed 3 года назад

    That was new and interesting to me.

  • @Richard-zc1cj
    @Richard-zc1cj 3 года назад

    Keep it up, you might be the next Paul Harvey

  • @David_Bower
    @David_Bower 3 года назад

    I first heard of California City a couple of years ago. I learned all about it from yet another video that RUclips recommended I watch.

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/TsZFE7CUrYY/видео.html

  • @MTPatriot1787
    @MTPatriot1787 3 года назад +1

    As usual, cities, towns and communities form up out of industry, enterprise and necessity. None of which this met. Obviously it fit the bill in later years for government and research needs, but in the general gist of how and why towns form up, it shows why it also failed.
    Still a great piece of history. Thanks for making the video.

  • @lazerhornet794
    @lazerhornet794 3 года назад +1

    wow, That is Interesting

  • @Kabutoes
    @Kabutoes 3 года назад

    When you wander out of The Box in Fort Irwin and stumble upon this in the Mojave desert

  • @Pangea_Abortion
    @Pangea_Abortion 3 года назад +2

    On one hand, it would be nice if this city existed in the way that it was invisioned to be. Maybe then not so many people would be living in LA and SD today.

  • @djay6651
    @djay6651 3 года назад +1

    1000 years from now, archeologists will be puzzling over this.

  • @randomperson6988
    @randomperson6988 4 года назад +10

    That is interesting

    • @rudy103069
      @rudy103069 3 года назад

      ruclips.net/video/1KYHLtttW8s/видео.html

  • @colonypainting711
    @colonypainting711 2 года назад

    Probably a form of antiquated platting. Rio Rancho is the California City of New Mexico where unscrupulous real estate develepors like Amrep and Horizon would do the minimum amount of infrastructure required by law to market these lots back east to people who weren't any where near the land; often times with pictures of "local" scenery that was in many cases hundreds of miles away.
    While this form of antiquated platting is no longer legal, the remnants of these ghost towns are fairly common in the southwest.
    While, in my humble opinion, a barren desert landscape can only be so interesting, the geology directly to the west of Rio Rancho is extremely interesting: toadstool hoodoos, Cabezon, etc.