Mark J. Terrill / AP
This Jan. 27, 2000, file photo shows visitors driving through the town of Baker, Calif., as the world’s tallest thermometer stands in the background.
Thursday, July 10, 2014 | 9:54 p.m.
BAKER, Calif. — A giant thermometer rising from the Southern California desert is once again a beacon for tourists headed to and from Las Vegas.
The roadside attraction off Interstate 15 in Baker was relit Thursday after a major renovation.
The July 10 date is significant: It was on the same day in 1913 that the hottest official temperature on Earth was recorded in Death Valley.
Willis Herron built the thermometer to a height of 134 feet to match that record.
Herron's widow, Barbara, says it made her sad to see the Baker landmark — billed as the "World's Largest Thermometer" — fall into disrepair in recent years.
Her family took it over again, aiming to make its 5,000 light bulbs glow once more — although they've now been replaced with energy-saving LEDs.
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