Existing comment:
From Wasteland to Wonderland:
Mining comes and goes with fluxuating demand for minerals, but the draw of the desert is eternal. By the 1920s borax mining activity had slowed and the Pacific Coast Borax Company began looking for other uses for its holdings in Death Valley. The elegant Furnace Creek Inn first opened for business in 1927 with great success.
In a move to preserve the frontier nature of the desert and to attract more guests to the inn, the borax company initiated the move to protect Death Valley. It became a national monument in 1933 and a national park in 1994. The transition from mining to tourism proved to be the saving grace for the mining company and Death Valley.
Christian B. Zabriskie (1864-1936) was vice president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company. He oversaw the operations in Death Valley during the transition from mining to tourism. |