A Guide to the Best of Southern California : GOING PLACES : Journey to the (Official) Center of the World

WOULD YOU LIKE to stand at the very center of the world? At Felicity, in the extreme southwest of California, on a vast desert plain in the shadow of the Chocolate Mountains, stands a shimmering, pink-marble pyramid. At its center lies a plaque indicating the spot that has been named “The Center of the World.” When you set foot on the plaque, you are awarded a commemorative certificate to mark the event.

The concept of marking a place the center of the universe--whimsically, to be sure--was based on the moral fairy tale about Felicity, “Coe, the Good Dragon at the Center of the World.” Now Felicity is recognized as such “officially”: A law was passed in 1985 by the Board of Supervisors of Imperial County (the first time in history such a property law was passed). General Dynamics has “confirmed” the position--the exact moment in time and space--by satellite observation, and the Institut Geographique National of France proffered its formal acknowledgment.

In addition to the pyramid, Felicity boasts its own “stairway to heaven”--a 25-foot section of the original spiral staircase from the Eiffel Tower--a general store, a brasserie and a post office. And the budding town is soon to be the site of a California Highway Patrol area headquarters.