TAKE the water out of a waterpark, add a bit of graffiti and community, and what do you have? California 's Lake Dolores, just two hours from Las Vegas , used to be a 273-acre-long channel of man-made lakes in the 60s, inspiring passersby to take a quick dip. According to SFGate , in the late 1960s, the park gained notoriety in the neighborhood as attractions like slides and zip-ties were added. Eventually, Dolores began its first steps as a waterpark with the addition of a lazy river and an arcade, but the makeshift theme park didn't last long.
After a failed deal in 1986 to turn the spot into an RV resort, the park flip-flopped between opening and shutting down for a decade and a half. In 1999, a $20 million expansion plan added 18 new slides and a raft ride, cementing its status as a waterpark. Bad luck seemed to plague the landmark, however, as a series of unfortunate events befell the park's owners and workers in the same year.
In just three seasons, the park amassed $3 million in debt, and an employee was paralyzed in an accident who was eventually awarded $4.4 million in damages in 2004, according to Business Insider . It's unsurprising, then, that the waterpark filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2000, which quickly turned to Chapter 7 liquidation six months later.
Despite a $400,000 renovation project in 2002, in which the park re-opened under its new name, Discovery Waterpark, its hours quickly dwindled to opening on just the weekends, leading to a final clo.
