Salvation Mountain, one of California's great art oddities, partially collapsed. Devotees vow to save it [View all]

Leonard Knight, a Korean war veteran and itinerant auto mechanic, showed up here in 1984 with the ambition of launching a 200-foot-tall balloon that he’d spent 10 years sewing by hand. Emblazoned in enormous letters on the side of the balloon was “God Is Love ” — a reflection of Knight’s goal to bring everyone closer to God.

Knight never was able to get his balloon airborne, but he did spread his “God Is Love” message through another project: the intriguing desert monument known as Salvation Mountain, which not only remains standing but also is growing in reputation,10 years after Knight died at 82.

Knight’s supporters recently turned out to celebrate that 10th anniversary by lending a hand to preserve his creation, which sits on the decommissioned Marine base Camp Dunlop near the Salton Sea, about three hours west of Los Angeles and an hour and a half south of Palm Springs.

Fans and friends gathered in late October to work on the mountain and reminisce about the kindly recluse who over 25 years created an enormous, candy-colored paean to his faith. Salvation Mountain is regarded by many as one of the most striking pieces of outsider-art sculpture in America. This year Imperial County recognized its enduring importance by designating it a “historically significant property.”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-11-26/salvation-mountain-slab-city-leonard-knight-east-jesus