From True’s 9 February 2003 issue:
Ooh La La
“The city’s broke, practically,” says Soap Lake, Wash., Mayor Ken Lee. “We have no industry, no tax base. We need to do something.” The “something” that’s been approved by the city council is to build the Soap Lake version of the Eiffel Tower: a 60-foot-tall working Lava Lamp in the middle of town to attract tourists. But the town can’t afford to build the monument to 1960s acid culture — cost estimates range from $1 million to $25 million. The effort is being promoted by an organization called SoLa LaLa, short for “Soap Lake Lava Lamp”. The director of the Grant County Economic Development Council calls the ode to the Lava Lamp, which was invented by a British nudist, “a fun idea, but we need someone with some capital who’s willing to spend it.” (Los Angeles Times) …Easy: it’d make a terrific concept for a cell phone tower.
And yes, as a matter of fact, I did seriously suggested to the concept designer that they try to get a cell phone company to sponsor it — it really would make a good cell tower! But: no reply.
2004 Update
In 2004, the town actually secured a giant Lava Lamp that had been installed in Times Square as a stunt by Target stores. It was expected to arrive in town that December, and be installed that Spring. But it appears that never happened. Even the project’s official web site was offline as of early 2020.
The tourist attraction was the idea of Brent Blake, an office interior design consultant. Even he foresaw a problem: “If they put a giant lava lamp here, it better be bulletproof,” he told a reporter in 2004.
Plus, it was going to be expensive: when Blake tried to find out what it would cost in power to keep it running like an actual Lava Lamp, he found that the feasibility study to answer that question would cost $50,000. It appears that despite getting the free 50-footer from Target, the idea is dead.
They should have taken my suggestion for a cell tower.
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I live a couple of hundred miles from Soap Lake — it’s up at the bottom of the Grand Coulee, so way out in the sticks! I mean, wayyyy out there. Yes, there’s a lake there…so chock-full of alkali that when the breeze blows, it builds up a greasy, soap-like scum on the down-wind shore. I’ve always wondered why they don’t build on their tourist potential being along one of the few routes to Grand Coulee Dam. Perhaps something along the lines of Wall Drug since it gets hot there in summer. Anyway, I’m not really sure how much a giant lava lamp would appeal to the possible visitor. Perhaps not so much.