Mystery Spot - Santa Cruz California

The Mystery Spot was first discovered by George Prather in 1939. George Prather was an electrician, mechanic, and inventor before he opened the site. The Mystery Spot was one of several roadside attractions that opened after World War II for new automobile owners and was featured on Art Baker's television show "You Asked For It".

Visitors experience demonstrations that appear to defy gravity, on the short but steep uphill walk and inside a wooden building on the site. The Mystery Spot is a popular tourist attraction, and gained recognition as a roadside "gravity box" or "tilted house". At this roadside attraction, the laws of gravity and physics seem to disappear as balls roll uphill and people lean over past their toes without tumbling over.

The Mystery Spot was nominated in July 2014 to be designated as a California Historical landmark and was officially declared as California Historical Landmark #1055 in August 2014. 

Need to know more?  

https://www.mysteryspot.com/what-is-it 

Wave Motor, Santa Cruz, California

It seems like an early Mitchell postcard. The layout almost looks more like a Detroit. Never had heard of the "wave motor" until seeing this card. An interesting, but failed concept.

The inventors were a pair of brothers named William and John Armstrong. The wave motor, an oscillating water column, was built inside the cliff. They had dug a thirty-five by six foot hole into the side of the cliff that ran to a level below low tide. From there another tunnel connected it with the ocean. The purpose was to get water up to the the scenic dirt road on the bluff that needed to be kept damp because of the dust that was kicked up by tourists..

Some more info on the wave motor here:
http://www.haskey.com/johnh/wave_motor/index.html

The wave motor was dismantled in 1910 because of improved street paving that made it unnecessary to water down the roads. One of the tunnels still remains in the cliffs to this day.