Jim Linderman blog about surface, wear, form and authenticity in self-taught art, outsider art, antique american folk art, antiques and photography.
Christmas Special. The WORST Folk art Environment EVER. New Jerusalem of Dr. Riker
Joints like this are what gave the state of California their unofficial motto "Land of Fruit and Nuts." Photographs of the Holy City of Father Riker circa 1941. The false utopia was established in 1919 by Father Riker, palm reader and white supremacist Christian. The worst kind of Christian. Residents had peculiar sexual rights as well, it seems. That is, NO rights, as the sexes were segregated. God told him to build the commune into a roadside attraction and to use his cult followers for the tourist labor. Soon there was a cult-operated gas station, a dance hall and peep show machines. In 1929 Riker began spreading his gospel by radio station KFQU. They had their own post office, I presume to send and receive hate mail.
Super racist, the cult allowed no one in who didn't look like them. A large billboard on your arrival read "HOLY CITY IS A WHITE MAN'S TOWN! NEGROES AND ORIENTALS KEEP OUT OF HOLY CITY."
Here is a brief quote from Father Riker from his book The Emancipator.
"The White Man can take care of any and all kinds of business in our own, White Man's California State Home, and no longer will the White Man tolerate your undermining and polluting tactics. Farmers, Business Men and The Workers say: Orientals get out and stay out of our business. Our new Government will see that you get a job. Your polluting, undermining system of business must eternally stop in Our California. And besides this, keep your polluting hands off our White Race Women; they also belong only to the White Race Man. This is the true law of our original White Man's Constitution, these statements explain the real and true spirit of California."
See? Nut Job and Fruity Pebble. Father Riker ran for Governor of California four times but thankfully received only 1% of the vote each time. That would be about the same percentage some of the current "religious right" politicians would get. NOT…there is a good number of politicians today who seem to think separation of church and state is an obsolete concept.
IN 2016 what remained was purchased by wealthy Scientology couple Bob and Trish Duggan. They bought the parcel of land where Holy Land stood (and rusted away). 192 Acres! While the couple is worth BILLIONS (at one time Duggan was the 638th richest man in the world) they paid only 6 million dollars for the big plot near Los Gatos, California.
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