Sky-high ceilings, endless rows of seats, and a heavy red velvet curtain hanging above a pristine wooden stage in the heart of a glamorous big city… That’s probably what comes to mind when you picture an opera house.
This one has all of that, except for the towering ceilings and the location. The Amargosa Opera House is the only opera house of its kind in the world located literally in the middle of the desert. More specifically, you’ll find it in Death Valley Junction.
The story behind Death Valley Junction
Unlike many other towns abandoned after the Gold Rush faded away, Death Valley Junction was built for borax. The remote settlement sprang up in 1907 as a rail hub when the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad arrived, connecting nearby mines to the rest of California.
A few years later, the Pacific Coast Borax Company transformed the outpost into a company town, complete with a hotel, offices, and dormitories. As mining declined and the railroad shut down, Death Valley Junction slowly emptied out, eventually becoming the ghost town visitors see today.
Amargosa Opera House, Marta Becket’s legacy
At the peak of the town’s boom years, the Amargosa Opera House came to life in 1923 as part of the grand Amargosa Hotel complex, to entertain miners, railroad workers, and travelers passing through this remote desert outpost.
Originally designed as a recreation hall, the theater later evolved into a true opera house, with seating for roughly 230 guests. For decades, it sat largely unused, until one woman stumbled upon it and changed its fate forever.
That woman was Marta Becket. A classically trained ballerina and performer, Becket discovered the abandoned theater in 1967 after her car broke down nearby. Most people would have called roadside assistance and left, instead she signed a lease for $45 a month.
She spent years restoring the space, hand-painting an elaborate audience of aristocrats, musicians, and spectators directly onto the walls. Becket performed there for more than four decades, earning international acclaim and turning the opera house into a world-famous cultural landmark.
Today, the venue still hosts performances, tours, and special events, while the adjoining Amargosa Hotel remains open for overnight stays, allowing visitors to book a room and fully experience this one-of-a-kind desert landmark.
Oh, by the way, both the opera house and the hotel are said to be haunted, with reports of a crying baby, apparitions in the miners’ quarters (“Spooky Hollow”), and strange activity in rooms 22 and 24…
📍 Location: CA-127 & State Line Rd, CA 92328
