City 1970 - 2022

City, 1970 - 2022

City is a monumental sculpture by Michael Heizer located in Central Eastern Nevada. A mile and a half long and a half mile wide, it is a vast complex of shaped mounds and depressions made of compacted dirt, rock, and concrete. The City is apparently reminiscent of many ancient ceremonial constructions through its complexity and size, but its form is suggestive of the central hub or nucleus of a modern city. The City has been developed and built by the artist since 1970 until today.

The project is located in an isolated valley within the high desert of the Great Basin that has been grazing land for cattle and sheep for at least a century. Surrounded by primitive wilderness, it is near the bases of several mountain ranges of nearly 12,000 feet in elevation and near the White River, which was active during the post-Pleistocene era. The Heizer family has inhabited Nevada since the 1800s, and the City location was partly chosen by the artist because of its remoteness. Almost all elements within the City are made from basic materials—clay, sand, and rock—collected locally with minimally invasive means, so that the native plants and wildlife may remain undisturbed. In June of 2015, the City and the area surrounding it, 704,000 acres in total, were proclaimed the Basin and Range National Monument to safeguard the area’s unique environment for the enjoyment of future generations.

The City is owned and operated by the Triple Aught Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Nevada. Work on the City has been aided over the last fifty years by organizational and financial support from institutions around the country, including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland; Lannan Foundation, New Mexico; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Many private individuals have also contributed their money and time.

The 2025 visitation season begins on May 6th and ends on November 20th. Visitation days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Reservations for the 2025 visitation season are SOLD OUT. Upon cancellation, previously sold out dates may become available. You may join our 2025 Visitation Waitlist by filling out this form. Signing up will ensure you are updated on any openings that become available throughout the season.

Visitors will be accommodated on a first come, first serve basis and reservations will close for each day as they are booked. The price of a visit is $150/adult, $100/student, and is free (but with reservations still required) for residents of Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine, Nevada, counties; Nevada students and educators; active military and veterans; and indigenous peoples.

These all-day trips will be possible for a maximum of six visitors ages 16 and over, with prior reservations only, and only in favorable weather. Upon arrival to City, visitors will have approximately 3 hours to tour the 1.5-mile-long sculpture typically on foot. The City is on private property in rural terrain, and it has no habitable structures. Visiting without a pre-arranged visit is thus potentially dangerous, and it is strictly prohibited and is trespassing.

The Triple Aught Foundation thanks its generous supporters, listed alphabetically: David C. Bohnett, David Booth, Brown Foundation, Cashman Family Foundation, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Mrs. Nancy Daly, Dia Art Foundation, Suzanne Deal Booth, Virginia Dwan, Peter Freeman, Larry Gagosian, Rachel and Ephraim Gildor, Glenstone, Michael Heizer, Jill and Peter Kraus, Lannan Foundation, Dana and Gregory Lee Family Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Lowry Family, Manzini Charitable Fund, The Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation, Paul Marciano Foundation, McCormick Foundation (Chicago), Celeste and Anthony Meier, The Menil Foundation, Inc., Cynthia and Forrest Miller, Jarl and Pamela Mohn, The Mohn Family Trust, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, Presidents of the Prada Fondazione Prada, Milan, Louise and Leonard Riggio, Touli and Neil Rimer, Katherine Ross and Michael Govan, Kelly Schoeffel & Matt Murphy, SOM, Ann G. Tenenbaum, Alice and Thomas Tisch, Alice L. Walton Foundation, Barbara and Charlie Wright, Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation and those who wish to remain anonymous.

To support the City, please donate to the Triple Aught Foundation by clicking the button below.

A book about the City project is in preparation by the artist in collaboration with Gagosian Gallery. For more information about Michael Heizer’s artwork, please contact Gagosian at info@gagosian.com or visit the artist’s webpage here.

For the press, please contact: press@tripleaughtfoundation.org.

All other inquiries: info@tripleaughtfoundation.org. Please note that reservations cannot be made via email.

Triple Aught Foundation respectfully acknowledges that the City has been created within the ancestral territories of the Nuwu (Southern Paiute) and Newe (Western Shoshone), who lived in and around the vicinity and call this land home, as their ancestors did before them.

Triple Aught Foundation, the 501(c)(3) that oversees and operates Michael Heizer’s City, has complete discretion as to the acceptance of any visitor request. City is located on private property and only invited guests are permitted on the property. All other visitors will be denied access to the property. Invited guests must advise Triple Aught Foundation of any medical conditions. The sculpture City is a registered work, protected by federal copyright law. Triple Aught Foundation has a strict copyright enforcement policy regarding unauthorized photographing or filming of the work. No unauthorized reproductions, public display or distribution of copies of the work, in whole or in part are permitted. Anyone violating this policy will be immediately asked to leave.