With an amusement park, several racing tracks, and a notably famous steakhouse, there is no shortage of interesting spots of entertainment in the city of Amarillo, TX. The town is home to a number of art pieces, most constructed under the influence of local millionaire Stanley Marsh III. Marsh was described as “eccentric” and passed away in 2014 leaving behind a legacy of art within the city. Located on the southern limit of the town is a giant sculpture of legs called Ozymandias. It is a mock tribute to the Egyptian pharaoh and was commissioned by Marsh. There is also an art installation known as the Floating Mesa of Amarillo. This is located north of Amarillo. Among his unarguably most famous works is Cadillac Ranch.
Cadillac Ranch is located at 13651 I-40 Frontage Rd between Amarillo and Bushland. Located in an empty field, the installation was moved in 1997 two miles west of its original location due to the growth of the city. It features 10 retro Cadillac Cars buried in the ground with the back ends in the air. Marsh commissioned this work to be done by a group of San Francisco artists called Ant Farm in 1974. The cars are supposedly positioned at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza and were installed to showcase the notable tail fins on the Cadillac cars of their time.
As a roadside attraction, Cadillac Ranch draws the attention of anyone passing by. The visibility of the artwork from the highway makes it a notable and eye-catching sight and brings people of all different backgrounds and ages who are traveling out of, to, or through Amarillo. After its installation, people traveling down the road would stop to indulge in leaving their mark on the art. Visitors began defacing the cars by tearing things from them and covering them with spray paint with no opposition from the artists or Marsh. This has become a tradition and today, the field surrounding Cadillac Ranch is covered in spray paint cans, some still containing paint.
Another notable site that Marsh left behind was one of the largest freely installed pieces of artwork in the world. This would be the Dynamite Museum which consists of thousands of signs painted with their own unique design, some featuring sayings or short stories, some with art work or symbols. A group of freshly graduated local self proclaimed punk artists assisted Marsh in this venture, among them being Brian Deneke. Brian Deneke is a local Amarillo man who was murdered by someone who attended a rival school form him. During a parking lot brawl, a football player from Amarillo High School struck and drug Deneke with his car killing him.
Cadillac Ranch is accessible to the public free of charge 24/7. It is hardly ever free of visitors as there is always a crowd of cars lined up to see the work. A lot of food trucks will park out on the property to feed those coming and going. If you want to read another article, follow this link.
Map from Cadillac Ranch to Connie’s Alterations and Dry Cleaners:
Map from Cadillac Ranch to Route 66 Motor Speedway: