Timeline
2000 – Present
A New Millennium, A New Promise
With new ownership and a dream come true, the Integratron is bought by the three Karl sisters in 2000. The sisters have painstakingly crafted a unique and powerful Sound Bath experience, designed specifically for the Integratron Sound Chamber, which now includes playing 20 quartz crystal bowls.
Having visited and participated in the Integratron Project since 1987, they bring their creativity, stewardship and devotion to the project. Hundreds of people visit the Integratron each week, and the sisters consistently invest vast resources year-round in the building and property to optimize our guest’s comfort, accessibility, and overall experience.
In 2000 the well-known and respected Huell Howser produces one of his California’s Gold television shows on PBS about Giant Rock and The Integratron raising public awareness about the project. Regular Sound Bath schedules, an updated website and more media coverage catapult the Integratron back into the public eye in the first decade of the new millennium. Scientists, Musicians, Sound Healers, and curious seekers from the world over discover this one-of-a-kind, acoustically perfect structure.
1987 – 1999
A New Owner, A New Era
Emile Canning and Diana Cushing buy the Integratron to preserve it, lead seminars, UFO skywatches and continue the tradition of exploring religion and science merged.
The new owners endeavor to beautify the property, clearing debris and planting trees, turning it into a desert oasis. The Integratron was opened periodically to the public for the first time ever, allowing the curious, past and present, to experience a now historical landmark.
1978 – 1986
Integratron Project Stalls
With George gone, the Ministry was now headed by Dorris Andre Van Tassel, George’s second wife.The Integratron is leased by Dorris to various groups who express interest in the property and take up residence. In 1986 Dorris Van Tassel offers the Integratron for sale in an attempt to relieve herself and the Ministry from mounting debt.
1978
In Memoriam
George Van Tassel, born March 12, 1910 passes suddenly on February 9, 1978. His epitaph read, “Birth through induction, death through short circuit.”
George Van Tassel’s proprietary electronic equipment, notes and diagrams disappeared from the property shortly after his death and have not surfaced to date. His FBI file is still classified.
1957-1977
Building the Integratron
George breaks ground to build the Integratron and invests the next 18 years in its construction.
The Ministry of Universal Wisdom is founded – a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to religious and scientific research.
The Integratron was built entirely on donations, solicited through his newsletter, The Proceedings, and through hundreds of speaking engagements. Howard Hughes was a large contributor to the project.
The Integratron is built using a revolutionary design, all wood construction – 16 glued and laminated spines held together like a Chinese puzzle by one ton of concrete at its apex. The purpose of the Integratron is the rejuvenation of the human body, similar to recharging a battery, and basic research in time travel. According to VanTassel, the Integratron is located on an intersection of powerful geomagnetic forces that, when focused by the unique geometry of the building, will concentrate and amplify the energy required for cell rejuvenation. This energy is created by the revolution of an external ring at the shoulder of the building, generating electrostatic forces that are fed to the stator centered in the lower room.
1953 – 1957
Meditation
George Van Tassel holds weekly meditation and channeling sessions at Giant Rock in a 400 sq. ft. chamber hollowed beneath the Rock.
1953 – 1977
Spacecraft Conventions
April 4, 1953 marks the first Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention at Giant Rock Airport featuring many of George’s fellow “contactees” including George Adamski, Orfeo Angelucci, Harold Arnold, Truman Bethrum, Gene Dorsey, Gerald Heard, Donald Keyhoe, Meade Layne, Desmond Leslie, George Hunt Williamson, Silas Newton, Ray Palmer, Frank Scully, Daniel Fry, Gabriel Green.
Thousands attend the Spacecraft Conventions at Giant Rock, which become huge festivals of music, lectures by “contactees,” UFO enthusiasts and weird science aficionados.
1953
Contact with UFO’s
In August, at 2:00 am, George Van Tassel claims a ship from Venus lands at Giant Rock and a being named Solgonda takes him aboard. Here, he claims, the mysteries of the Integratron are revealed to him. George claims to develop a telepathic relationship with Solgonda and a Venusian Council and begins to “channel” vast amounts of information related to time travel and the technologies of rejuvenation. Here is his first hand account:
“From the position of the full moon, I judged it to be about 2 a.m. On the desert here it is nearly as bright in full moonlight as it is in daylight. I awakened, not knowing why, but sensing that something had disturbed me. We sleep outside about 8 months out of the year, so you can see that our bedroom is readily accessible. This is not uncommon as we operate a public airport and have been awakened many times by our dogs barking at people coming in the night. However, at this time not a sound was heard from the dogs.”
“I asked the man what he wanted, thinking his car might have given him trouble and he walked into our remote field as many others have done. At the same time I sat up in bed. Beyond the man, about a hundred yards away, hovered a glittering, glowing ship, around eight feet off the ground. The man said, “My name is Solgonda, I would be pleased to show you our craft.”
1947
George Van Tassel moves to Giant Rock
George leaves an exemplary career in aviation and moves to Giant Rock with his wife, Eva, and their 3 daughters. They lease 4 square miles at Giant Rock from the Bureau of Land Management, open Giant Rock Interplanetary Airport and a restaurant, the Come On Inn, famous for Eva’s hamburgers and spiced apple pie.