Desolate, scorching, and endlessly windswept, desert towns carry a strange kind of magnetism. Beneath their often unassuming landscapes lie remarkable stories, and this small village not far from Los Angeles is no exception.
Baker is a tiny town of just 442 residents in San Bernardino County, best known for its massive thermometer, recognized as the tallest in the world.
A quick history of Baker
Baker was founded in 1908 as a small railroad station along the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, which helped move minerals across the Mojave Desert.
At first, it mainly served miners and people passing through the harsh desert routes. But later on, the town expanded during the rise of car travel in the mid-20th century, becoming a key stop along Highway 91, later replaced by Interstate 15, the main route between L.A. and Las Vegas.
While Baker never turned into a large city, gas stations, motels, and roadside diners quickly appeared to serve travelers. Today, it has fewer than 500 residents (442 according to the last census), yet it still welcomes thousands of drivers every week heading toward Nevada.
The world’s tallest thermometer lighting up the desert
Besides being known as a key road stop, Baker is famous mostly thanks to a very peculiar installation: a 134-foot structure built to mark the record 134°F temperature officially recorded in nearby Death Valley National Park in 1913.
The landmark was constructed in 1991 by businessman Willis Herron as a tribute to extreme desert heat. It quickly became a recognizable stop for travelers on Interstate 15. Today, the thermometer is fully functional and uses LED lights to display the current temperature in large, visible digits, especially at night.
