The Road to Zzyzx - Part 2

As I rolled up to the defunct "Fountain of Cures" bubbling beneath the rocky knoll, I couldn't believe the presence of life continuing to thrive all around Zzyzx so many decades later. Having been excited to discover what had been left behind, I was a bit dismayed to find that a gate at the front was shut with a sign posted, informing visitors of where to park. I pulled into a gravel lot, and there I saw an informative sign and a couple other park service facilities. I had known this place had gotten some press in the previous half decade or so, but until that moment I'd been hanging on to the idea that the place was still out there untouched, apparently not so.

Behind the signs were crumbling stone walls only a few feet high, made of smaller red and brown slabs stacked together, and I wondered if they were some of the last remnants from the army days at Soda Springs. Looking at a satellite image, one can see a bit of it to the south of the parking lot. From that angle, rows and rows of the trees can also be seen running north to south along the entrance to Zzyzx, beckoning one in to see the past. The palms survived and thrived, but the rest of the trees were a tangled mess of scraggly branches reaching out into the roads and bare in many spots after years without adequate irrigation.

I began strolling towards the heart of the foliage ahead, beyond the gate. There was a good amount of concrete and curbs around for such a remote place, some looking older than others, but it appeared it had been kept up well in the desert sun. Then the small lake appeared in front of me with water still flowing from its robust, timeless granite fountain in the middle. The whole thing ringed with tall emerald palms. like giant candles on a cake. Surrounding the water as they did, it created an illusory oasis-like scene that momentarily made me want to stay right there all day just taking it in. Walking forward, I snapped a few photos with the camera around my neck. I don't have much of a clue what I am doing, testing the manual mode here and there to tweak some of the basics, just hoping that a photo or two of this place turns out alright.

I walked around the lake and took in the life it brought to the starkly dry environment. Tall grasses and reeds lined the banks, harboring echoing frogs and bugs, shading them from the relentless sun. A few ducks hopped off the bank and into the water as I approached, and a Sandhill Crane rested on the fountain for a bit, cleaning themselves in the waters of Soda Springs. After following the path around the whole thing, carefully looking out for rattlesnakes around the drier edge, I was still stunned. The lake was well over a half century old, yet it still looked like something that belonged behind a house in Hollywood as opposed to the middle of the Mojave.

Heading back to the south side of the pond, I peered across the small median that stood in front of the old resort rooms. The buildings were made of a sort of stucco in the midcentury modern style, with each room having a small patio carved out almost like a cave that held a table and chairs. They had been updated with air conditioning for the students, it appeared, but otherwise remained mostly original. There was also an old swing set frame with the swings removed, and it made me wonder what the Zzyzx Resort must've looked like in its heyday, with people young and old, families, older couples, and loners making the trek out into the desert hoping to be healed by Springer and his "cures." People would've been lounging outside their rooms in colorful 50's swimwear and leisurewear against a plethora of vibrant vegetation encircling all the buildings. Behind the first bank of rooms was a much larger resort structure with an additional story, so guests could have a view of the lake and beyond.

Between the two buildings ran a street named the "Boulevard of Dreams," according to a faded street sign still standing, hand-painted in sun-bleached yellow and red. The faded paint and emptiness of the place today almost makes it feel like a dystopian Disneyland. With joyful moments all around here at times, but now long gone. Walking down further along, I came to a building where stucco met stone. There was a sign on the front door indicating the main office, and it made me wonder if the building had been Springers main base of schemes where he broadcast his weekly show from. His words would reach patrons all over the world, asking for their money and attempting to persuade them to come to him in Zzyzx to be cured of their woes.

The stone wall that made up the lower part of the main building may have been left over from the army days. I wondered why this building out of all others had the native stone, but since there were only a handful of buildings hastily built by troops in the 1860's, perhaps that foundation was all that was left of them when Springer arrived. Behind this building was a bathhouse, with individual cement pools for folks to lay in. They were advertised as real hot springs, but Springer was actually heating the alkaline water and pumping it out into the pools. This bath house had broken frame windows peering to the north at the mountains, the place providing a relaxing view if nothing else.

Springer's guests who made "appropriate donations" would stay at the resort for extended periods, taking in the mineral water and sunshine while also following Springer's prescribed diet that included rabbit meat, fruit, and ice cream. Two times daily, the "preacher" would give sermons over the loudspeaker at the compound to remind his guests of the evils of arguing, alcohol, and various other vices. Accepting larger and larger donations is eventually what began to spell the end for Springer.

As the resort grew in popularity from the 1950's into the 1960s, legal trouble began as Springer began to mark out lots on his 12,800-acre mining claim for partitioners who made substantial donations. They began to build houses around the resort on various parts of the land, and this caught the attention of the federal authorities. The government reminded Springer that he was still on a mining claim, which meant it was public land. The legal battle ensued for the next decade as Springer fought to keep the land for himself and his "congregation."

The clouds darkened even more in 1969 when the American Medical Association named Springer the "King of Quacks," leading to his arrest a short time later for making fraudulent claims about his various healthcare products. His conviction was a result of products such as "Mo-hair," which was a supposed cure for baldness. Gladys Towles Root was an eccentric LA criminal defense attorney who represented Springer; she often wore giant hats and voluminous dresses in the courtroom, much like Cruella De Vil. Root specialized in murder and assault cases in LA for over 50 years and was successful in an industry that wasn't at all friendly to women at the time. Still practicing her craft at 77, she collapsed of a heart attack into her protege's arms in the courtroom while defending clients, wearing a suit colored entirely of gold.

Root comforting the wife of a convicted client in 1964.

Image Courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection – Los Angeles Public Library

After paying fines for a couple years, Springer was eventually sentenced to 60 days in jail and served the majority of the sentence. Then a couple years later, after another long fight, he was found guilty of squatting on federal land. Now of course Springer tried to make things a bit right by offering to pay over $30,000 in back rent on the place, but the US government quickly declined the offer. With that, Springer and his few hundred remaining followers were evicted from the land, and the California State University system took it over in 1976 for students to use to learn the wild, arid ways of the desert.

I am glad that Zzyzx and its tumultuous history is preserved to the modern day, with the university presence ensuring that the history lives on through the architecture and features added by Springer and his followers. After taking plenty of photos and soaking in the peace and heat in that desolate place, I headed deeper into the desert, looking for more markers of the past.

Sources:

“Bureau of Investigation: Curtis Howe Springer A Quack and His Nostrums .” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 105, no. 11, 14 Sept. 1935, p. 900, doi:10.1001/jama.1935.02760370056027.

Feller, Walter. “Digital-Desert: Mojave Desert .” A History of Zzyzx: 1860 - 1870 Army Outpost, Walter Feller, digital-desert.com/zzyzx/history-3.html. Accessed 01 Aug. 2024.

Grilli, Jon. “Miracles and Mirages: How Curtis Howe Springer Stole the Desert.” PBS SoCal, 9 Nov. 2018, www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/miracles-and-mirages-how-curtis-howe-springer-stole-the-desert. Accessed 06 Aug. 2024.

Hill, Randall  C. “The Last Word in Hucksterism: Zzyzx Road.” Idaho Senior Independent, 18 Sept. 2023, www.idahoseniorindependent.com/the-last-word-in-hucksterism-zzyzx-road/. Accessed 02 Aug. 2024.

Rasmussen, Cecilia. “ZZYZX: An Unlikely Home of Hucksterism and Miracle Cures.” Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2002, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-16-me-then16-story.html. Accessed 11 Aug. 2024.

Towne, C. (2016, March 30). “Get Me Gladys!” – How L.A.’s Best-Dressed Attorney Defended the Defenseless. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/get-me-gladys-how-l-a-s-best-dressed-attorney-defended-the-defenseless