Long live the Machine!
Bodie California
The conquest of the American West and the gold fever saw the creation of cities that were deserted as quickly as they were born.
In 1880 Bodie was the second largest city in California with 10,000 inhabitants and 2,000 houses. Two banks, newspapers, a prison, 30 mines, a railroad track and 65 saloons on the two-kilometer main street. In total, 90 to 100 million dollars of gold were extracted from these mines. Life swarmed, families, thieves, miners, cowboy prostitutes. The city had more than 65 saloons, including many brothels with gambling halls and opium dens,
It was one of the most dangerous places in the west. By the end of the day the miners were rushing into the bars. The mixture of gold, silver and alcohol was fatal.
Bodie smelled of powder: hold-ups, bastons, assassinations ... the wild-west ! Each time it's the same story. There is gold, coal and then one day there is no more.
Two terrible fires ravaged the city, one was caused by a two-and-a-half-year-old boy - Bodie Bill - who played with matches. The city died in 1942. Today it is kept in a state of disrepair. When we walk in Bodie, we go back in time !
