99155 SEA VIEW DRIVE
MECCA
Once a luxury vacation destination, the Salton Sea is a virtual post-apocalyptic dreamland today due to agricultural runoff that turned the waters toxic and massive flooding that forced residents out in droves. At the height of its popularity in the 1960s and ’70s, though, the Sea was THE place to be, and the Albert Frey-designed North Shore Yacht Club THE hangout for visiting A-Listers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and The Beach Boys. Shuttered in 1984, the structure sat abandoned until being renovated in 2010 and currently serves as a recreation center, with the adjacent parking lot providing stellar views of the sea’s gorgeous blue expanses and white sands. Venture closer to the shore, though, and it becomes apparent that the water is actually brown, the picturesque blue seen from afar nothing more than a reflection of the sky. And that pristine beach? In reality, it’s crushed fish bones left behind by the many carcasses that regularly wash ashore. Simultaneously beautiful and harrowing, the Salton Sea has to be seen to be believed.