Integratron, Landers, CA. George Van Tassel (1910-1978) held respectable jobs as an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed Douglas Aircraft and as a test pilot for Hughes Aviation, but arguably his real life’s work was as an inventor and UFO advocate. 

Van Tassel was the engineer behind The Integratron, a spherical, all-wood dome originally intended as an electrostatic generator to promote cellular rejuvenation and time travel. An avowed alien contactee, Van Tassel claimed that extraterrestrials from Venus gave him the formula to build the structure. The building’s ship-tight wood construction and dome shape imbued it with an amazing sound resonance.

The current owners of The Integratron haven’t yet figured out how to tap into the structure’s time travel aspects, but they are intent on rejuvenation (just for the soul). The only way to visit The Integratron is by reserving a private or “pop-up” sound bath (by appointment only). Sound baths last one hour and include 25 minutes of crystal bowl harmonies followed by recorded music for relaxation and meditation. Reserving a sound bath also gives you access to the structure’s grounds and a display about the history of The Integratron.

More posts like this can be found in the travel guide Moon Palm Springs and Joshua Tree by Jenna Blough where this piece was originally published.