Slab City, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Slab City |
|
|---|---|
Slab City Welcome Structure
|
|
| Location | Sonoran Desert, California (4 miles northeast of Niland) |
| Coordinates | 33°15′27″N 115°27′45″W / 33.25750°N 115.46250°W |
| Established | 1942 |
| Slogan | “The last free place” |
Slab City, also called The Slabs, is an unincorporated, off-the-grid alternative lifestyle community consisting largely of snowbirds in the Salton Trough area of the Sonoran Desert, in Imperial County, California. It took its name from concrete slabs that remained after the World War II Marine Corps Camp Dunlap training camp was torn down. Slab City is known for attracting people who want to live outside mainstream society.
History
1942: Construction of Camp Dunlap
Camp Dunlap, in which "The Slabs" now sits, was expected to prepare the United States Marine Corps for combat duty.
1949: Military operations reduced
Military operations at Camp Dunlap had been greatly reduced, but a skeleton crew continued until the base was dismantled.
1956: Camp Dunlap dismantled
All buildings were ordered to be dismantled; the slabs remained.
1961: Land conveyed to the State of California
As of October 6, 1961, a quitclaim deed conveying the land to the State of California was issued by the Department of Defense as it was determined the land was no longer required. The deed did not contain any restrictions, recapture clauses or restoration provisions. All of the former Camp Dunlap buildings had been removed. The remaining slabs were not proposed for removal. Later, legislation required that revenue generated from this property go to the California State Teachers Retirement System.
Creosote harvesting
At some point, a chemical company in Oakland, CA hired 20 men to harvest creosote leaves near Niland, CA. Some workers moved closer to work by living in small trailers at the abandoned Camp Dunlap. This was the start of what is now called Slab City.
1965 migration to Slab City began
Riverside County, CA ordered people to leave a camping area at Painted Canyon near Mecca, CA. These people had all sorts of living arrangements; besides trailers, there were cardboard and plywood shacks, and a variety of vehicles and school buses. Some migrated to what is now Bombay Beach Georgetown, south of the Fountain of Youth, and the abandoned Marine Training Base Camp Dunlap now known as Slab City.
Attractions
Salvation Mountain
Located just east of California State Route 111, the entrance to Slab City is easily recognized by the colorful Salvation Mountain, which is a small hill approximately three stories and entirely covered in acrylic paint, concrete and adobe, and festooned with bible verses. It was a project over two decades by Leonard Knight.
East Jesus
East Jesus is an experimental, sustainable and habitable art installation located in the Slab City area. There is no religious connotation in the name East Jesus – it is a colloquialism for a place in the middle of nowhere beyond the edge of service availability; the off-grid facility operates with no municipal utilities. In early 2007, Charlie Russell left his job in the technology industry, packed all his belongings into a shipping container and sent it to a trash-strewn field where he began to surround his two art cars with sculptures that would become the foundation works of East Jesus. The Chasterus Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit formed after his death in 2011, has since guided the curation and expansion of East Jesus.
Made from discarded material that has been reused, recycled or repurposed, East Jesus encourages visitors to imagine a world without waste, in which every action is opportunity for self-expression. Assemblage and mixed-media art cover nearly every inch of it, interior and exterior. Sculptures and installations are constantly in development throughout campus, and the musical performance space holds a PA and stage lighting system, and studio grand piano. There are also a solar power system, full kitchen and battery bank made up of expired batteries disposed by telecom companies. Photography, multimedia art, performance art, writing and music are integral parts of a larger fabric, which their artists collectively are continually weaving. East Jesus artwork is living, growing and ever-changing, and embraces the thousands of varied voices from contributing artists who have added to the installation. Each day, residential staff gives dozens of free tours, and hosts visiting artists and overnight guests.
The Range
The Range is an open-air nightclub complete with stage, lights, amplifiers, speakers with tattered couches and old chairs for seating. Every Saturday night at around dusk, locals and visitors meet for a talent show that features permanent resident musicians and anyone else who wants to get up on stage and perform. The venue is run by an old-time resident of 14 years named Builder Bill.
In popular culture
Films
- Slab City was one of the settings featured in the Sean Penn film Into the Wild (2007) based on Jon Krakauer's eponymous 1996 book that recounted Christopher McCandless' adventure across North America culminating in his death in the Alaskan wilderness. In the book and movie, McCandless spent time with itinerant residents of Slab City named Jan and Rainey, and struck up a friendship with a teenage girl named Tracy.
- Below Sea Level (2008), a multiple award-winning documentary by Italian director Gianfranco Rosi, was filmed in Slab City. The film was shot over a five-year period and documented the lives of a small group of otherwise homeless residents living in RV's, buses, tents etc.
- It is visited in the BBC made-for-TV documentary film American Nomads (November 28, 2011).
- Vice created a YouTube video featuring Slab City called Living Without Laws: Slab City, USA (May 15, 2012).
Games
- A parody of the city called Stab City is featured in video game Grand Theft Auto V (2013). It is portrayed as a run-down trailer park filled with a gang of bikers.
Literature
- Slab City was featured in Sue Grafton's detective novel "G" Is for Gumshoe (1990), in which a missing person was last seen at her residence at Slab City.
- Slab City was also talked about in an article from various Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books.
Radio
- Slab City was featured in an episode of NPR documentary program Hearing Voices called "Small Town" the week of November 11, 2009. The segment's synopsis read: "This town in California never did exist, though it's full of folk who live there: an unofficial RV Park and home to the homeless thrives in culture and community."
Webisodes
- Slab City was highlighted in "The Last Free City in America" (September 1, 2015), a Season 8 episode of Youtube comedy series Good Mythical Morning.
Economy
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Fred Dickey in 2012, the most common source of income among the permanent residents is "probably" SSI checks. In 2020, Ranker indicated that Slab City's income mainly comes from tourists and donations. In 1995, almost every resident of Slab City collected disability benefits, social security or unemployment. Another steady source of income at the time was selling salvaged goods to visitors.
Many residents use generators or solar panels to generate electricity. Clean water is dispensed from a tank at the community church. The closest body of civilization with proper law enforcement is approximately four miles (six kilometers) southwest of Slab City, in Niland, where residents often went for basic shopping as of 1990. Residents were still obtaining essentials from Niland, a town of about 1,000, 30 years later in 2020.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, most tourist destinations were closed. This had economic ramifications for Slab City, as well as its availability of food and water, which relied in part on tourist donations. Residents are divided on whether to follow or defy government guidelines, complicated by a lack of health infrastructure and insurance. In May 2020, Imperial County had 55 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, out of 417 tests.
Demographics
The Washington Post reported in 2020 that population is seasonal, and balloons up to about 4,000 during the winter, by some estimates, and dwindles to about 150 in the summer. Since the 1950s, Slab City has drawn a variety of people, such as anarchists, artists, eccentrics, outcasts, retirees, and the impoverished. A 1990 Chicago Tribune article, by a journalist who stayed in the camp for a week, estimated that winter residents (at the time) were mostly senior citizens over 60 years old. It is a "popular winter destination for transients." Slab City is used by recreational vehicle owners, travellers, and squatters from across North America, including Canada.
