At the time, it appeared to be an abandoned resort. The property was owned by the BLM, and there was a creepy old caretaker there who never got visitors (the gate was locked, and I had to wait for him to drive out and let me in).
The guy was fascinated by the sailplane rig -- he never stopped talking while we took the glider apart and put it in the trailer. Afterwords, he gave us a brief tour around the property, and told us of all the famous people that used to visit.
The place looked like a movie set to me. There were Arabian-styled buildings with palm trees and ponds. Obviously, it had been an exotic destination at one time.
Giving "zzyzx" a quick google search, I came up with this:
The story of Zzyzx Springs is the story of Curtis Howe Springer who, in 1944, settled without a by-your-leave on 12,800 acres of Mohave desert land, on a tract about eight miles long and three wide. On it he erected a 60-room hotel, a church, a health spa with mineral baths in the shape of a cross, a castle, a radio station and several other buildings. He even constructed a private airstrip which he called Zyport. The Boulevard of Dreams, a divided parkway, led to an oasis on Lake Tuendae, which was subsequently identified as the habitat of the Mohave chub, a tiny fish on the endangered list.
Springer identified himself as a physician and a Methodist minister, but in fact he was neither. For thirty years he broadcast a daily religious and health program from a radio studio at Zzyzx Springs which was carried, at its peak, by 221 stations in the United States and 102 more in other countries. On the air he played religious music and preached folksy religious philosophy. He urged his listeners to send him donations for miraculous cures for minor ailments as well as illnesses as serious as cancer. He claimed he could restore hair and rejuvenate body cells. His magic potions (concoctions of celery, carrot and parsley juice) were shipped to all fifty states and overseas.
Retirees gave Springer their life savings for the privilege of staying in spartan quarters at the ranch. Vacationers stayed at the hotel for a few days at a time to enjoy the waters. In fact, at least one Word Ways author, Harry Partridge, once visited Zzyzx Springs. He wrote in the May 1988 Word Ways
Zzyzx Hot Springs turned out to be some sort of retreat run by a fundamentalist preacher who had simply appropriated government land and some buildings, added others, and used the site as a place for his followers from Los Angeles to come and meditate, eat healthful food, and abstain from the fruit of the vine and the distillations of barley, corn, agave, and sundry other raw materials which, when chemically processed, became mind-altering substances. The most interesting artifact that graced this staid caravanserai was a mechanical exercise-horse that had once adorned the Calvin Coolidge White House.
These enterprises thrived from 1944 until 1974, when federal marshals finally arrested him for alleged violations of food and drug laws and unauthorized use of federal land. Zzyzx Springs and all the improvements were confiscated by the Bureau of Land Management, and Springer was found guilty and spent a few months in jail. He died in Las Vegas in 1986 at the age of 90.
Since 1976 Zzyzx Springs, now simply known as Zzyzx, has functioned as the Desert Studies Center, a teaching and research station administered by the California State University system. The university has free use of the land and facilities under a 25-year cooperative management agreement with the Bureau of Land Management.
Scientists from the university's 20 campuses, as well as from other educational institutions, come to the Desert Studies Center to do research. For example, NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists are conducting satellite imagery studies. University classes make field trips there, and every weekend from October through May special desert-related extension programs convene. Administered by the San Bernardino branch (the closest of the state campuses), each session is devoted to a specific topic, such as historical campsites along the Old Spanish Trail. In all, upwards of three thousand scientists, researchers, students and others use the Center each year.
And the name Zzyzx? Pronounced "Zeye-zix" with the accent on the first syllable, it was made up by Springer, who claimed that it was the last word in the English language. It (along with Zzyzx Spring, the associated hydrologic feature) was approved as a place name by the United States Board on Geographic Names on 14 Jun 1984:
Zzyzx: locality, between Soda Mountains and Soda Lake 12.1 km (7.5 mi) NE of Crucero; San Bernardino Co., Calif.; sec. 11, T 12 N, R 8 E, San Bernardino Mer.; 35°08'34" N, 116°06'14" W.
Zzyzx Spring: spring, between Soda Mountains and Soda Lake 11.9 km (7.4 mi) NE of Crucero; San Bernardino Co., Calif.; sec. 11, T 12 N, R 8 E, San Bernardino Mer.; 35°08'10" N, 116°06'10" W.
More than you ever wanted to know about Zzyzx!
:)
Actually - that is very interesting.
Have seen the sign for years on the road to Vegas and wondered about it.
Can't ever talk Mrs. Lurkin into diverting to Zzyzx, Pahrump, Searchlight or even Calico ghost town.
But then, I don't try too hard either.
Then there is XYZZY.
Plover!
Zzyzx even had a railroad, the Tonopah & Tidewater. But it was torn up right after WW II started. Looks like the airstrip was built atop the old railroad grade.