Baker’s giant thermometer to shine once again
BAKER, Calif. — A giant thermometer rising from the Southern California desert will once again be a beacon for tourists headed to and from Las Vegas.
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports the family of the late Willis Herron, the original owner of the 134-foot roadside attraction, plan to relight the thermometer this year.
Herron’s widow, Barbara, says it made her sad to see the Baker landmark — billed as the “World’s Largest Thermometer” — fall into disrepair in recent years.
Her family took it over again with the purpose of making its 5,000 light bulbs glow once more by early summer.
Baker, which considers itself the gateway to Death Valley, is located on Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Barstow.
The tower’s height was selected because of the 134-degree record set in Death Valley in 1913.
