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| Landmark #1055 | Santa Cruz County | Visited: October 2, 2011 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | The Mystery Spot is a mysterious vortex of mystery in Santa Cruz! Trees grow crookedly around it! Water flows up! People can’t stand up straight at all! How can you explain it? |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: This roadside attraction established in 1941 is the first and most significant example of its type in California, a “tilt-box” or “gravity house” roadside attraction that gained popularity in the mid-twentieth century. Established by George Prather, the Mystery Spot became a popular roadside attraction under the stewardship of Prather’s son Bruce in the late 1940s and 1950s.
OTHER TIDBITS: The Mystery Spot is a very special place! In fact, it’s one of many such places across the country that popped up during the Great Depression because they were such inexpensive forms of entertainment! Basically, you get led into a house where the laws of physics don’t seem to apply, and you suspend your sense of disbelief, just like in a movie! It’s sort of a shock to the senses, but when you leave, it’s with the feeling that something really neat just happened! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: 465 Mystery Spot Road Santa Cruz, CA 95065 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~346mi (557km) — 5.8hrs |
| When should I go? | The Mystery Spot is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM until 4:00PM, and on weekends from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM! |
