An opera house in the middle of nowhere? Yes, thanks to the vision of New York dancer Marta Beckett who fell in love with the 1920s colonnaded adobe building when her car broke down nearby in 1967. Until her death at age 92 in 2017, she entertained the curious with dance, music and mime shows at Amargosa Opera House (amargosaoperahouse.org). Visiting performers continue to keep her legacy alive in the fall and winter. Check at the adjacent motel about tours and upcoming shows.
Tours (adult/child $20/10) focus on the auditorium whose walls Marta personally adorned with fanciful murals showing an audience she imagined might have attended an opera in the 16th century, including nuns, gypsies and royalty. The structure itself was built by the Pacific Borax Company and once the social hub of Death Valley Junction until falling into disrepair after 1948. It sits right on the spot where Hwys 127, 178 and 190 meet (called Death Valley Junction), about 30 miles east of Furnace Creek. Not much else exists here except for the road into the park, a 20-minute drive along Hwy 190, and the glorious dark sky above.
