DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND - Eureka, California
So pronounced is the eastward curve of the State’s southern coast that San Diego lies farther east than Reno in Nevada, although Eureka, a northern port, is the most westward city in the United States. -California: A Guide to The Golden State (WPA, 1939)
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Behind the Bayshore Mall in Eureka, California, there is a stretch of land on the Humboldt Bay that was once home to the Holmes-Eureka Mill, one of the major mills of Humboldt County. Now the land is home to piles of garbage, transients and drugs. Plagued by a difficult history and a slowing industry, its eventual disappearance was inevitable and wholly changed the place that was once home to such powerful infrastructure.
The remnants of the Holmes-Eureka Mill now occupy what many call “Devil’s Playground”. The name is not an overstatement as the appearance of this place is somewhat post- apocalyptic. Decomposing wooden posts that used to serve as log ponds and docks now stand naked in the water, mere feet from shore. Overgrown, tangled foliage smothers the muddy grounds. What is not shrouded by shrubbery is carpeted with garbage. Molding blue jeans, paint cans, old shopping carts, food packaging and countless other items litter the entire region. Devil’s Playground has been left to rot but it is not uninhabited. Among the mud and trash dwell those who live on the fringes of society. Homeless encampments lay scattered throughout the area. Huts constructed of plywood and tarps hang, cradled by the trees.
Some walls and foundations of the Holmes-Eureka Mill still stand in this surreal place. Crumbling and weathered, much of the cement is now hidden behind a collage of countless spray paintings. Cartoonish characters and bizarre shapes are brought to life by vibrant colors. Within an old mill building that now stands roofless, a man climbs on his ladder, spray painting new colors over the old as music resounds throughout the walls from a boombox. He carries bear mace in his pocket to protect against those who put the devil in Devil’s Playground.
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Jesse Vad is originally from the Bay Area in California. During college Jesse spent a year in New Orleans and like so many other transplants, fell in love with the city and lives there permanently now, exploring and examining its landscape. You can see more of Jesse’s work at NolaWorld.com.