Salton City and surroundings, CA
23 pics
04 Nov 2023
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of Nov 2023
On the east side of the Salton Sea, is the now famous community of Bombay Beach. The area to the west next to the shore where all the destroyed mobile homes used to be, is now a sculpture park of sorts. There has always been a single light in this area, and it is still standing but not working. The bottom of the fixture and lamp have been missing ever since I first saw it in 2004 I think it was.
23 Sep 2009
Even this pic, taken 14 years previously, shows the condition of the fixture unchanged.
04 Nov 2023
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of Nov 2023
At the southeast corner of the Salton Sea, on CA-111 is Niland. We see a lot of shovel hat fixtures abandoned on old gas station lots usually, but this one is nice as it has a LED lamp fitted and must still be in use. The lamp distribution is wrong for the fixture, but in use is better than nothing! Location: 1st St and CA-111.
04 Nov 2023
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of Nov 2023
A little way north on the west shore of the sea from Salton City, is Desert Shores. A solitary GE HPS cobrahead surviving, right at the end of Capri Lane.
08 Sep 2010
What little lighting there is that works in the communities surrounding the Salton Sea, is usually HPS. Here is the barnlight illuminating the Desert Shores fire house.
08 Sep 2010
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2010
This smashed Wide-Lite flood and other incandescent flood were located on a pole near some abandoned buildings at the North Shore Marina, on the northwest side of the sea. There has been some development at this site over the past few years, with the North Shore Beach Club being rebuilt, and the abandoned buildings were being cleared when I last visited, so this pole is probably gone at time of writing (2025).
05 Sep 2011
Status unknownCheck attempted on "as of" date (usually via GSV in this case), but status of light could not be determined at that time, usually as fixture could not be found again
as of May 2025
All round the sea there are remnants of when it was much more populated and busier than it is now. This wooden pole with RLM incandescent fixtures was located at Salton Sea Beach or Desert Shores, but I've not been able to find it again on subsequent visits.
23 Sep 2009
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of 2023
On Hwy 111 which runs down the eastern side of the sea, the entrance to the community of Bombay Beach is marked by this suspended luminaire. If you get the full size pic, you can see this is a NEMA head with an open yard light refractor, but it is a repurposed series head as can be seen from the large insulating bushes on the side. In this incarnation it burns a HPS lamp.
08 Sep 2010
A closeup of this fixture shows the side mounted bushes. This was an incandescent fixture but it has been modified for multiple wiring and had a HPS ballast fitted. Similar
arrangements to this can be seen in Calipatria which is a town about 25 miles to the south of here.
08 Sep 2010
The Bombay Beach sign at the entrance is famous in itself, and does have some lighting interest. When I took this pic in 2010, the sign was lit with linear fluorescent tubes
under the canopy, you can also see the photocell at the top left. The power feed for these came from the other side of the access road (Ave A), from the transformer that powered the
HPS suspended light over CA-111. A line voltage feed came from the transformer pole down to another pole next to it, with a meter on it, and from the top of that pole, across
Ave A to a pole just out of shot on the left here. Then underground for a short distance to the sign. Unfortunately the poles that suspended the wire across the
Ave A were not very tall, and GSV shows at some point between 2021 and 2023 something broke the wire between them and it hasn't been fixed since. Someone has put a small
solar panel on top of the sign, which resumably feeds some sort of battery powered arrangement. The existing mains powered arrangement looks like it it all still there, just
not repaired.
As it looked in 2021 before the wire across Ave A got broken.
This image © Google (Street View) 2021.
This image © Google (Street View) 2021.
23 Sep 2009
Status unknownCheck attempted on "as of" date (usually via GSV in this case), but status of light could not be determined at that time, usually as fixture could not be found again
as of May 2025
Not too much interesting roadway lighting wise in Salton City, but there are one or two other bits. This light seems to have been a navigation light, pointng out towards the sea as it does, with the land side shaded. Also the shape suggests a rotating beacon, but it wasn't possible to confirm that. The USCG "Light List" does not mention any navigation lights on the Salton Sea, also an orange colour is unusual, so if it was it must be a private one. If you get the full size pic, you can see that there is also the remains of a yard light on this pole.
03 Jun 2006
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of Late 2000s
This pic is almost 20 years old at time of writing (2025) and shows there was a lot more stuff round the sea that in the intervening time has just disappeared. All the poles you see here and the gate have gone. This is just off Bombay Beach, and on the right, there is something that looks like some sort of light, perhaps fluorescent, if you get the fullsize pic.
03 Jun 2006
A closer view, it's still not quite clear what that item is on the pole but it certainly looks like a light fixture. The sea level was quite high that year (it varies from season to season) so we couldn't investigate further.
24 Mar 2007
Status unknownCheck attempted on "as of" date (usually via GSV in this case), but status of light could not be determined at that time, usually as fixture could not be found again
as of Mar 2019
The shovel hat pole pictured here is actually in Salton Sea Beach, a community just north of Salton City on the west shore.
On the shore near part of the abandoned marina is this pole with 2 long dead shovel hat fixtures.
24 Mar 2007
24 Mar 2007
24 Mar 2007
24 Mar 2007
The maker's name can be seen- 'Appleton Electric Company'. They still exist, based in Rosemont, IL and still make floodlights! Not shovel hats though...
24 Mar 2007
24 Mar 2007
Also atop the pole is what looks like a dual obstruction light, made by Crouse Hinds. The lenses and lamps are long gone.
24 Mar 2007
Wonder what this is? Seen at Salton City, but manufacturer
unknown...this pic taken May 2006.
Update Oct
2007: According to a thread on lighting-gallery.net, these fixtures
are made by Revere. They have been christened the 'Peaheads' for
obvious reasons! Sightings in Frederick, MD and also northern CA
reported.
Update 12-Nov-2007: AC Rhone found an old Revere ad- we now know this is a Revere Urban-Lite, for 100-250W mercury lamps.
Update 12-Nov-2007: AC Rhone found an old Revere ad- we now know this is a Revere Urban-Lite, for 100-250W mercury lamps.