Carhenge is located in the High Plains of Nebraska, and is an automotive replica of Stonehenge, England’s ancient mystical alignment of stones that chart the sun and moon phases. Instead of being built with large standing stones, Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint.
The artist behind this automotive artwork is Jim Reinders. While living in England, he had the opportunity to study the design and purpose of Stonehenge, and decided to build Carhenge as a memorial to his father 1987. Made up of 39 cars including a ’68 Chevy Impala station wagon, ’57 Plymouth, ’75 Ford Country Squire, ’65 Buick Estate station wagon, and a ’67 Cadillac DeVille ambulance, all of which have been placed in the exact proportions of Stonehenge.
The outer circle is 30m in diameter, and some cars are buried nearly 2m deep in the ground to keep them upright. The cars that make up the arches have engines and transmissions removed, then their bodies have been welded together. The gray spray paint covering the cars gives it a uniform appearance and doesn’t allow the colour of the cars to distract from the sunset viewed between the arches.
Additional car sculptures have been installed at the site known as the Car Art Reserve, and Carhenge itself gets over 100,000 visitors per year. Anybody into pop-art, roadside attractions, or just stuck in Nebraska waiting for a connecting flight should add this monument to their ‘must-see’ list.
I like it!
That is so cool! If I ever find myself in Nebraska, I’ll try to see it.