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Rhyolite and Goldwell Open Air Museum

Rhyolite and the Goldwell Open Air Museum are located just outside of Beatty, Nevada. A visit has been on my list for years, but every time I find myself in Beatty, I’m always rushed by others to get wherever my destination is. However, I finally made it a point to do the 440-mile drive between Las Vegas and Reno over two days, on my way to Burning Man, to enjoy some of the sights along the way.

map

The turnoff to both places is four miles down the 374 Highway west of Beatty. You will encounter the Open Air Museum first, which consists of several sculptures out scattered about the desert. I would allow about one hour to walk among all of them. Here are some pictures.

The Artist’s Palate
As I recall, this one was called The Artist’s Palate
The Last Supper
Keeping with the ghost theme, this one is called The Last Supper. The photo does not fully capture three more ghosts on the right side, for a total of 13.
The Venus of Nevada
This the Lady Desert: The Venus of Nevada. This one is my favorite. Comparing her to earlier photos, I think she needs a new coat of paint.
shorty harris
Tribute to Shorty Harris. Shorty was a minor at the peak of Rhyolite’s heyday. I think the figure on the right is supposed to be his pack-burro. For more information about Shorty, visit Frank “Shorty” Harris.
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider.

For more pictures and information, please visit Goldwell Open Air Museum.

Just up the road about a half mile is the ghost town of Rhyolite. You can read all about its history at Wikipedia. Please forgive me if I only post some pictures.

Bottle House
This is the only structure that has been kept up, the Bottle House. It was fenced and locked off, but it looks like they sometimes let people in. There was a shortage of building materials in Rhyolite’s prime, so bottles were a convenient way to cut down on what I presume was concrete needed to build the walls of a house. My first job sometimes took me to working at the Bottle House at Knott’s Berry Farm.
Schoolhouse
Schoolhouse
Porter Brothers Store
Porter Brother’s Store
Cook Bank Building
Cook Bank Building
train depot
Train Depot

There are remains of some other buildings, but I didn’t want this newsletter to be too long and boring. I hope these photos give you a taste of the twin sites. If you are ever passing through Beaty, I would highly recommend taking a couple of hours to visit.

Written by: Michael Shackleford