Calico Ghost Town

Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert, CA

Mr. Walter Knott, operator of Knott’s Berry Farm, reconstructed and built the “Old West” themed Calico Ghost Town in the early 1950s. The property was later deeded to the County of San Bernardino and is currently operated by the County of San Bernardino Park and Recreation Department. The popular spot is visited by thousands of tourists each week.

Heritage Architecture & Planning was contracted by the County for the reconstruction of nine structures destroyed by fire. The reconstruction was completed entirely from photographs because no drawings were available for the nine structures. The buildings included the Candle Shop, the Spice Shop, the Bottle Shop, Mystery Building Office and Ticket Booth, the Mystery Building, the Pottery Shop, Mine Shaft House, the Popcorn Shop and the Triathlon Muck Rake. The structures were wood frame, cast-in-place concrete and heavy timber construction.

The County of San Bernardino had an extremely tight schedule that mandated construction documents be completed in one month for the million dollar project. Heritage met the aggressive deadline. The project remained open during construction.

The project was designed, bid and built in under a year to allow the attraction to be open for the main tourist season in the summer.