Egyptian artwork installed in the wave pool at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands overlooks the rundown facility as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The Splashian Cafe at Splash Kingdom Waterpark sits from years of vandalism and disrepair in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands sits in disrepair after years of not being used as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A sign for water tube rentals lays in the sand as rubble piles up as demolition begins at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Egyptian artwork installed in the wave pool at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands overlooks the rundown facility as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A chair sits in the center of the empty wave pool at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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The lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands sits in disrepair as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A sign lays on the ground next to the lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as it sits in disrepair as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Souvenirs once for purchase lay on the ground inside the main building at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A member of a demolition team takes an uprooted palm tree to a trash pile at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A member of a demolition team begins to tear down a portion of the main building after years of vandalism and neglect at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands sits in disrepair after years of not being used as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Showers, with the water being long since shut off, sit in disrepair at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A Christmas decoration sits in a pile of rubble as demolition of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands has begun as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The main building at Splash Kingdom Waterpark shows years of vandalism and disrepair as seen in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The main building at Splash Kingdom Waterpark sits in disrepair after years of vandalism and neglect in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A lounge chair pad sits stuck between plants at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands sits in disrepair as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A sign lays on the ground next to the lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as it sits in disrepair as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A sign lays on the ground next to the lazy river at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands as it sits in disrepair as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An old soda machine sits in the Splashian Cafe at Splash Kingdom Waterpark after years of vandalism and disrepair in Redlands as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
An excavator tears down the water fall at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Egyptian artwork installed in the wave pool at Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands overlooks the rundown facility as seen on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The facility which opened in 1996, originally known as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom, is in the process of being razed after years of neglect. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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The epoch of pharaohs in Redlands has ended.
Demolition crews have been tearing down the once-mighty Splash Kingdom waterpark, which opened as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom in 1996.
Closed due to code and permit violations, and further hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, the buildings and even the water slide, had been beset by fires and deemed unsafe by the city’s fire marshal.
After a fire in a shed on Feb. 6 police said vandals and homeless people had been seen on the site in recent months.
The water slides were demolished in late June, and on Wednesday, July 7, a crew with American Wrecking Inc. worked on the main building topped with a pyramid whose entrance was once guarded by a giant sphinx wearing sunglasses.
The waterpark lost its permit three times in its 25-year history — first in 2009 when unauthorized rave dance events led to traffic, parking and noise problems, then in 2018 and again in January 2021 following little progress and years of noncompliance on landscaping, parking lot and permitting issues.
The city has received a preliminary application to build a warehouse on the property at 1101 California St., but officials are considering rezoning the site for residential use to meet state housing requirements.
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