A lakeside California town lay desolate after ecological disaster killed its fish and drove away residents. But through art, life found a way back.

Maria NoyenJun 24, 2023, 17:05 IST

Bombay Beach photographed on December 26, 2018, near Calipatria, California.David McNew/Getty Images for Lumix

After ecological disaster struck a California town in the 1970s, locals abandoned it in droves.
Severe flooding and dead fish turned a once thriving seaside community into a ghost town.

Out in the desert of California lies a town that was left almost entirely empty for decades.

Most of the residents of this town – known as Bombay Beach – abandoned it in the 1970s after a series of ecological disasters rendered nearly inhospitable.

Before then, it would be safe to say that Bombay Beach was thriving. Established in the early 1920s, the town is nestled on the shore of the Salton Sea, a body of water created by accident at the beginning of the 20th century when the Colorado River irrigation system flooded the area. Masses began flocking to Bombay Beach to enjoy all that its pristine shoreline had to offer.

The golden years were not to last. After experiencing devastating floods and rising salt levels slowly killing off its marine life, Bombay Beach became more or less of a ghost town, a shadow of its idyllic past.

But that's not where this story ends. In the early 2010s, life found a way back to Bombay Beach – thanks to the arts. Here's a closer look at the remarkable ghost town that has evolved from an apocalyptic-like wasteland to a piece of art in itself.

Bombay Beach is a town located on the shores of southern California's Salton Sea, created in 1905 when canals directing water from the Colorado River burst.

Bombay Beach is located on the shoreline of the Salton Sea.Google Maps

Located 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach entered its golden years in the mid-1900s when tourists would arrive in droves to the idyllic town built by a desert oasis.

A view of the Salton Sea from Bombay Beach in 2018.David McNew/Getty Images for Lumix

Located 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach entered its golden years in the mid-1900s when tourists would arrive in droves to the idyllic town built by a desert oasis.

In its heyday, Bombay Beach was said to have welcomed up to half of million visitors each year. Those who came enjoyed activities such as water skiing, fishing, and yachting.

The rusted remains of a car at Bombay Beach in 2003.David McNew/Getty Images

In its heyday, Bombay Beach was said to have welcomed up to half of million visitors each year. Those who came enjoyed activities such as water skiing, fishing, and yachting.

It was so popular that even a few famous faces – Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Sonny Bono, to name a few – were spotted there.

Frank Sinatra.CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

But that all ended in the 1970s after a series of natural disasters rendered the landscape nearly inhospitable.

A water tower leans in the briny mud where the remains of flooded houses and trailers stand at Bombay Beach in 2003.David McNew/Getty Images

Flooding caused by Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 meant businesses located closest to the shoreline in Bombay Beach were shuttered. Residents who lived in houses close to the water were also forced to relocate.

A worn chair in Bombay Beach in 2007.In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images

Flooding caused by Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 meant businesses located closest to the shoreline in Bombay Beach were shuttered. Residents who lived in houses close to the water were also forced to relocate.

Though some homes and establishments were salvaged, others were left to rot away in the floodwater and ultimately collapsed into the sea.

Graffiti gradually began popping up in Bombay Beach.David McNew/Getty Images for Lumix

At the same time, residents were dealing with the knock-on effects of the level of salt rising in the sea caused by water evaporation.

Dusty cars and colorful art in 2018.David McNew/Getty Images for Lumix

This included fish species that had once thrived in the lake dying out.

A fish head lies near a house trailer at Bombay Beach in 2000.David McNew/Newsmakers

As temperatures rose in the summers, the bleak conditions were exasperated by algae blooms that caused millions of fish to wash up dead on the shores of the Salton Sea.

A man fishes along the receding banks of the Salton Sea near Bombay Beach in 2015.AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Unsurprisingly, the smell of the dead fish didn't make visiting Bombay Beach the most inviting idea anymore.

A house trailer crumbles in salty decay as the waters of the Salton Sea rise at Bombay Beach in 2000.David McNew/Newsmakers

It also had consequences for migrating birds – a huge number died after contracting avian botulism from eating rotten fish in the 1990s and early 2000s.

A pigeon perches in the window of a house trailer flooded by the rising waters of the Salton Sea at Bombay Beach on July 28, 2000David McNew/Newsmakers

But even though the Salton Sea is still in the midst of an ecological disaster, life has somehow found a way back to Bombay Beach.

Attendees ride bicycles on the first day of the 2019 Bombay Beach Biennale, an art festival in Bombay Beach.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Around 230 people still live in town. In the early 2010s, they started sharing it with groups of creatives who showed up to Bombay Beach to produce art there.

A junk sculpture is seen in Bombay Beach in 2018.David McNew/Getty Images for Lumix

In 2015, director Tao Ruspoli co-founded the Bombay Beach Biennale – an annual art celebration where artists transform the remains of the town into quirky installations.

An installation piece by artist Kenny Scharf featuring disused toys and plastic figures embedded on a Bombay Beach abandoned home in 2019.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

In 2015, director Tao Ruspoli co-founded the Bombay Beach Biennale – an annual art celebration where artists transform the remains of the town into quirky installations.

According to the festival's official guidance, the Bombay Beach Biennale is a "tool to amplify the largely unknown and ignored ecological crisis that is the Salton Sea."

A person walks past an art installation in triple-digit heat on July 10, 2021, in Bombay Beach, California.Mario Tama/Getty Images

According to the festival's official guidance, the Bombay Beach Biennale is a "tool to amplify the largely unknown and ignored ecological crisis that is the Salton Sea."

Some of the most impressive art installations in recent years include an array of colorful painted televisions of all sizes placed around a disheveled trailer.

Art installations at Bombay Beach in 2022.George Rose/Getty Images

Other pieces have referenced Bombay Beach's golden years and called attention to how the ecological disaster has transformed the landscape.

An outdoor art installation in Bombay Beach, California, on May 9, 2022.George Rose/Getty Images

Ruspoli said the smell of dead fish may have been "unbearable" for most of the old residents, but it hasn't deterred "eccentrics" from staying and like-minded artists from joining them each year.

People visit an installation sculpture of a crashed plane by artist Randy Polumbo, on the first day of the Bombay Beach Biennale in 2019.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Ruspoli said the smell of dead fish may have been "unbearable" for most of the old residents, but it hasn't deterred "eccentrics" from staying and like-minded artists from joining them each year.

Whether they're longtime residents or recent arrivals, Bombay Beach locals have made clear it's no longer a ghost town. "We live here. Be respectful," the Biennale's guidelines read. "Even lots that may look abandoned, belong to people who care about them."

The Ski Inn restaurant and bar in Bombay Beach on the shore of the Salton Sea in Southern California.Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Whether they're longtime residents or recent arrivals, Bombay Beach locals have made clear it's no longer a ghost town. "We live here. Be respectful," the Biennale's guidelines read. "Even lots that may look abandoned, belong to people who care about them."

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A lakeside California town lay desolate after ecological disaster killed its fish and drove away residents. But through art, life found a way back.

Bombay Beach is a town located on the shores of southern California's Salton Sea, created in 1905 when canals directing water from the Colorado River burst.

Located 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach entered its golden years in the mid-1900s when tourists would arrive in droves to the idyllic town built by a desert oasis.

In its heyday, Bombay Beach was said to have welcomed up to half of million visitors each year. Those who came enjoyed activities such as water skiing, fishing, and yachting.

It was so popular that even a few famous faces – Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Sonny Bono, to name a few – were spotted there.

But that all ended in the 1970s after a series of natural disasters rendered the landscape nearly inhospitable.

Flooding caused by Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 meant businesses located closest to the shoreline in Bombay Beach were shuttered. Residents who lived in houses close to the water were also forced to relocate.

Though some homes and establishments were salvaged, others were left to rot away in the floodwater and ultimately collapsed into the sea.

At the same time, residents were dealing with the knock-on effects of the level of salt rising in the sea caused by water evaporation.

This included fish species that had once thrived in the lake dying out.

As temperatures rose in the summers, the bleak conditions were exasperated by algae blooms that caused millions of fish to wash up dead on the shores of the Salton Sea.

Unsurprisingly, the smell of the dead fish didn't make visiting Bombay Beach the most inviting idea anymore.

It also had consequences for migrating birds – a huge number died after contracting avian botulism from eating rotten fish in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But even though the Salton Sea is still in the midst of an ecological disaster, life has somehow found a way back to Bombay Beach.

Around 230 people still live in town. In the early 2010s, they started sharing it with groups of creatives who showed up to Bombay Beach to produce art there.

In 2015, director Tao Ruspoli co-founded the Bombay Beach Biennale – an annual art celebration where artists transform the remains of the town into quirky installations.

According to the festival's official guidance, the Bombay Beach Biennale is a "tool to amplify the largely unknown and ignored ecological crisis that is the Salton Sea."

Some of the most impressive art installations in recent years include an array of colorful painted televisions of all sizes placed around a disheveled trailer.

Other pieces have referenced Bombay Beach's golden years and called attention to how the ecological disaster has transformed the landscape.

Ruspoli said the smell of dead fish may have been "unbearable" for most of the old residents, but it hasn't deterred "eccentrics" from staying and like-minded artists from joining them each year.

Whether they're longtime residents or recent arrivals, Bombay Beach locals have made clear it's no longer a ghost town. "We live here. Be respectful," the Biennale's guidelines read. "Even lots that may look abandoned, belong to people who care about them."