Built beginning in 1995 Demolished September 1997 | Reference no. 939 | |
Location Hesperia,
San Bernardino County,
California Type Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments | ||
Hula Ville, also known as Hulaville Forest and Mahan's Half Acre, was a 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) folk art environment of outdoor sculptures, and a roadside attraction of the Victor Valley area, in the Mojave Desert. It was formerly near the town of Hesperia in San Bernardino County, Southern California.
Contents
It was located on U.S. Route 66 2 miles (3.2 km) west of present-day Interstate 15 off Phelan Road, 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of central Hesperia, and south of Victorville on the approach to Cajon Pass.
History
Miles Mahan (1896-1997) began building Hula Ville in 1955, after retiring as a 'carny,' or carnival worker at the Venice Pier and Santa Monica Pier. Over the years, he created folk art sculptures and signs painted with poems and sayings for the folk art environment.
The outdoor artworks included hanging wine- and beer-bottle tree sculptures on Joshua trees and wooden posts, painted poems and prose on desert sandblasted wood signs, and other folk art elements adorned with dolls, award statues, and other found objects. It included his residence, a pickup truck camper without truck, and a homemade miniature golf course bordered with half buried bottles. It was free of charge, with donations accepted from visitors.
It also included a large dancing hula girl sign at the entrance, a business discard rescued and erected by Mahan. The crude hand-lettered sign beneath her read: "People travel through the state, how little will they know her fate, for traveler who'll ever be the wiser, her life was saved by the Supervisors."
Miles Mahan moved to a convalescent home in 1995, and died in 1997. Hula Ville was demolished in 1997.
Present day
The site of Hula Ville is a California Historical Landmark, listed under the Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments category.
The California Route 66 Museum in Victorville became the new home of the Hula Girl sign, other Mahan folk art items such as the bowlegged "Howdy" cowboy sign, and exhibits a scale miniature version of Hula Ville−Mahan's Half Acre.