While people are busy lining up at the mysterious Black Mailbox trying to get a peek into Area 51, just down the road, a secret project has been taking place for nearly half a century, and hardly anyone has noticed.
Photo Credit: Zach Alan
Area 51
Of course, we all know about Area 51, the top-secret Air Force Base that's shrouded in mystery. It's most well-known for its place in UFO folklore, especially for its role in the Roswell Incident. Of course, access to this goldmine of government secrets is highly restricted, but it's hardly the weirdest thing to see in the middle of the Nevada desert. Just down the road is another, more accessible oddity...
Photo Credit: Zach Alan
Photo Credit: Zach Alan
Meet "City". Standing nearly 80 feet high, and well over a mile long, City is approximately the size of Washington DC's national mall. So what kind of mysterious purpose could such a massive, secret project serve? Well, art, I guess.
One of the largest sculptures ever made, City was started in 1972 by Michael Heizer with nothing more than dirt, rocks, and some concrete. It's been built up quite a bit since then, and using some heavy machinery, his incredible creation has remained so accurate to his original plans that they're less than 1/16th of an inch off of his initial designs. After tens of millions of dollars and 40 years of work, Heizer says that his piece is meant to stand the test of time... even if humanity doesn't.
Photo Credit: Zach Alan
Photo Credit: Zach Alan
Apparently, the project is so secret that even surveyors flying over the area actually mistook it for a military base. You would think that with all these rumors, the artist might want people to see the project, but no dice. It's not yet ready for the public to view it... but it's only a few years away. According to sources, it's set to open to the public in 2020... which isn't too long to wait, considering we may never fully know what all is going down at nearby Area 51, I guess.
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