(KTNV) — The small town of Nipton, California has finally been sold and could turn into a circus village in the Mojave Desert.
Spiegelworld, the production company behind Las Vegas Strip shows "ABSINTHE," "Atomic Saloon" and "Opium," are the new owners.
The company says its goal is to revive the town as the center of Spiegelworld's global operations, where artists and performers can create and experiment.
Plans for Nipton include an "an art-directed, luxury accommodation and restaurant experience for a limited number of visitors" and an artist-in-residence program.
"It will be a living town where Spiegelworld artists and performers will retreat to dream, create, and undertake unfettered artistic experimentation which will feed into the creation of Spiegelworld's world class shows," the company stated.
Spiegelworld's purchase of the town comes after a failed plan to turn Nipton into a cannabis consumption destination.
Nipton sits about an hour's drive outside of Las Vegas near the Mojave National Preserve. It once served as a major cattle-loading station for nearby ranches. It's also home to an old hotel, built in 1905, once frequented by silent film star Clara Bow. She established the nearby Walking Box Ranch with her husband, Rex Bell.
"Having a rambunctious circus company purchase a small town may sound like the Schitt's Creek spin-off series," said Ross Mollison, Spiegelworld's "Impresario Extraordinaire." "But that couldn't be further from the truth. When we visited as guests a few years back, we fell in love with the peacefulness, the vast desert vistas, and the fireside chats with freight train drivers, miners and workers. Jim Eslinger, self-appointed mayor of Nipton, warned me that you need to have respect for the Mojave, and the desert will tell you if it is happy or unhappy with what you're doing."
Spiegelworld's purchase of Nipton, the company says, is part of a global expansion that includes resurrecting the 1929 Warner Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey and developing "Discoshow" in Las Vegas, among other endeavors.
Among the first orders of business for its newly-purchased desert town, Spiegelworld will house a creative team there starting in February. Led by Spiegelworld comic artists Max Baumgarten and Wayne Wilson, the team will develop ideas for a show inspired by the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the company says.
"Spiegelworld performers and artists are already embracing the potential of Nipton and are excited to get involved in the creative direction of the town, the restaurant, accommodation, artist retreats and small festivals we plan to present," Mollison stated. "Nipton will showcase the beauty of our circus family and I simply can't wait to share that community under the magical desert stars."
