The Domes of Casa Grande Are Gone!

Nov 29

11/29/2023

It was 2015 when I first heard about those mysterious "domes" in the desert. I hightailed it to Casa Grande that very evening. After hopping off the I-8 and onto a hazy road with a few dwellings, I began to see the spaceship shaped dome and it's yellow caterpillar looking counterparts. Now let me tell you, I'm a sucker for a desolate desert mountain backdrop and this one had not only the Casa Grande Mountains, but big yellow weird things.

Now while I understand that they were originally built in the 80s as a type of manufacturing plant that fell through before ever being used… that simple fact does not take away from their eeriness. They may have not ever been used for the originally planned purpose but they sure as heck weren't useless. Whether that use was as a canvas for artists, rituals (as rumored), a place for ghosts to dwell, or just hanging out as the locals speak about. Factually though, to fuel the ghostly and mysterious side, there were human remains found on the grounds of the domes and a stolen car. All of that helped create the mystery along with the sketchy visuals of dead things and the phantom-like echoes vibrating the dome's insides. Twice, years apart, I saw what appeared to be a carcass of a dog or coyote, and the number of other people who experienced similar such things has me convinced that somebody was trying to do something out there.

But now they are gone. One dome had already collapsed and apparently, officials were hellbent on destroying the remaining domes due to their condition deemed decrepitude… (which I gathered from the news when they were demolished).

Sighh… Such eccentricities of the desert should be preserved somehow.

Enjoy them while they last people.