In first major ufology acquisition, Huntington puts Integratron's eccentric history on display

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Like any good side quest, Jack Wagner’s journey into the history of the Integratron began with curiosity.The host of the “Otherworld” podcast had spoken to someone who experienced something unexplained at the mysterious dome in the Mojave Desert.Wagner knew little about the landmark or why it had been built, but ended up being key to its ultimate journey.

It was partially thanks to him that the Huntington recently acquired an extensive archive documenting the dome and the postwar UFO community that cohered around its creator, ufologist George Van Tassel.The collection, announced by the museum Tuesday, is deep and vast, with materials dating from the 1910s through the 1990s.It includes an architectural model and original blueprints of the Integratron, as well as nearly 630 photographs, negatives and slides, more than 250 audio recordings, 8-millimeter film footage, books, publications and other records and ephemera.

Entertainment & Arts From his home in Alhambra, Jack Wagner explores the spooky and the supernatural in way that fans say feels legit, ‘without all the hocus-pocus theatrical stuff.’“I was like, I want to learn more about this place,” Wagner said.“I started reaching out to find an expert.”That’s how Wagner found Daniel Paul, an architectural historian who researched and documented the 38-foot-tall cupola-style structure built in 1960 by Van Tassel, who ascribed it miraculous powers including antigravity, rejuvenation and time travel.

Paul’s work goes back a decade, when he was hired to get the building designated a historical landmark.Paul suggested Wagner visit Donald and Dale McKinney in the desert town of Landers, Calif.

The eccentric man and his wife preserved a number of items belonging to Van Tassel in a climate-controlled room in their home.The original mo...