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Burning Man history
Burning Man company history timeline
The celebration of Burning Man’s annual fire ceremony began in 1986, created by Larry Harvey and Jerry James.
1987 Height of Man: 20 feet Location: Baker Beach Participants: 80
1988 Height of Man: 30 feet Location: Baker Beach Participants: 150-200
1989 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Baker Beach Participants: 300+
1990 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Baker Beach (Burn Location: Black Rock Desert, Nevada) Participants: 800
1991 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 250
1992 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 600 attendees
1993 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 1,000
1994 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 2,000
1995 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 4,000
1996 Height of Man: 50 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 8,000
The intent of the founders was to dissolve and form a new LLC for each event cycle, as evident by the fact that Burning Man 98 LLC was formed on November 24, 1997; this was deemed entirely unsustainable in the business world, however.
1997 Height of Man: 50 feet Location: Hualapai Playa Participants: 10,000
Consequently, 1997 was the first year that the city had a planned layout and a map.
1998 Height of Man: 50 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 15,000
The very first “doodle” to appear on Google’s home page in 1998 was a stick-figure man that served as an “out-of-the-office” message informing visitors that the entire garage-based company had gone to Burning Man.
On February 4, 1999, Black Rock City LLC was formed as an organization to run Burning Man in the long term, then an event of 23,000 people.
For example, in 2000 the theme was “The Body,” and the streets of the city were given names such as “Head Way” and “Feet Street.” The many camps and villages within the city are founded on relevant subthemes and may be organized further around particular foods, sports, learning disciplines, or arts.
2000 Height of Man: 40 feet Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: 25,400
Upgrades in the already fabulous Center Camp Café distribute 70,000 beverages over the course of the week – a 40% increase over 2000 – with very few lines until exhaustion overtook the shift schedules post-Burn.
On May 8, 2001, The Black Rock Arts Foundation was founded as a separate nonprofit to promote Civic engagement and to help fund Interactive art.
The modern Burning Man era began in 2001 when the Man was erected on top of a 30-foot-tall wooden tower.
2002 Height of Man: 80 feet – Man stands upon a 40 foot Lighthouse Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: Monday: 7,328 Saturday: 28,979
A new preregistration requirement may have taken some art car enthusiasts by surprise: 420 licensed mutant vehicles roamed the playa, down from 560 in 2003.
At 12:15 p.m. on October 10, 2003, Burning Man passed the Bureau of Land Management’s clean-up inspection with flying colors!
The winter Town Hall meeting took place on December 14, 2003 after a year absence.
2003 Height of Man: 32 feet, standing upon a 47-foot, pyramidal Temple Location: Black Rock Desert Population: 30,586
The creation and launch of the Extranet in 2003 revolutionized the way volunteers and participants share and access information throughout the Burning Man community around the world.
For the first time in 2003, dogs were not permitted to attend the event.
2004 Height of Man: 40 feet, standing upon a 40 foot geodesic dome Location: Black Rock Desert Participants: Participants: 35,664
The Regional Contacts program continued to thrive year-round, boasting 85 local contacts at the end of 2004.
2005 Height of Man: 40 feet, standing (and rotating) upon a 32-foot tall Funhouse containing an interactive maze.
“Art In America” magazine featured Burning Man in its June/July 2006 issue with the article, “Report From Black Rock City.”
In 2006 the Regional Network numbered over 100 Regional Contacts at 85 locations worldwide.
Greening activities had already begun at Burning Man 2006 with efforts of “Cooling Man” and Burners Without Borders (BWB). The Cooling Man project raised carbon credits that offset the burning of the Man.
In what to this day is arguably the most famous moment in Burning Man history, an attendee man took it upon himself to set the Man ablaze on the first night of the 2007 event.
Additionally, Black Rock Solar was formed on May 21, 2008.
Schwan has been the lead builder on the Man project since 2009, and over the years has led a number of different Man build teams.
Decommodification LLC was formed on November 23, 2010 to prepare for the transition to a nonprofit that would begin the following year.
On June 2, 2011, Burning Man Project was formed as a California 501(c)(3) organization.
Garrett, who died was a mentor to Johnstone, died in 2011.
Burning Man Project received its 501c3 status as a charitable organization in May 2012 and in the 19 months since then, the project has developed three primary areas of focus: outreach, building the business structure and testing demonstration projects.
In the middle of the restructuring, the nonprofit Burners Without Borders was formed on August 21, 2012.
Black Rock City Properties LLC was formed on November 21, 2013, and Gerlach Holdings LLC was formed shortly after on December 19, 2013.
In July 2014, the Black Rock Arts Foundation was made a subsidiary of the Burning Man Project.
In 2014, the longtime Man Krewe was suddenly disbanded and largely replaced with newcomers, a decision that still rankles people on or close to the previous team.
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Burning Man competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiver Children's Foundation | 1998 | $2.2M | 30 | - |
| Southern Conference | 2000 | $10.0M | 10 | - |
| Philadelphia Museum of Art | 1876 | $77.0M | 507 | 29 |
| The Museum of Flight | 1965 | $50.0M | 100 | 2 |
| Milwaukee Public Museum | 1882 | $50.0M | 100 | - |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 1870 | $213.7M | 2,000 | 10 |
| Old Sturbridge Village | 1946 | $8.9M | 112 | - |
| George W. Bush Presidential Center | 2008 | $780,000 | 50 | - |
| Washington National Cathedral | 1898 | $12.0M | 170 | 4 |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 1876 | $151.0M | 23 | 4 |
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Burning Man, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Burning Man. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Burning Man. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Burning Man. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Burning Man and its employees or that of Zippia.
Burning Man may also be known as or be related to BURNING MAN PROJECT, Burning Man, Burning Man Project and The Burning Man Project.