About 16 km west of Amarillo, Texas, where old Route 66 joins the interstate, sits a public art installation made out of 10 rusted out and heavily spray painted Cadillac models from 1949 to 1964. They’re buried nose down into the earth, inclined at the same angle as the pyramids of Giza. Created in 1974 by the art collective Ant Farm, the sculpture seems to show the evolution of the tailfin.
The cars were all bought used from local junkyards and used car lots by local millionaire Stanley Marsh III for around $200 each. The wheels and hubcaps were welded on to prevent theft, but spray painting graffiti onto the cars has become a popular activity over the past 50+ years. But occasionally the cars are all repainted for use in advertising, or as the background for a music video.
In the late ’90s the Cadillac Ranch was dug up and moved 3km west, to escape the ever-expanding urban sprawl, and preserve a natural horizon in the background. Reminiscent of the roadside attraction like Muffler Men that dotted the landscape in this part of the world, the Cadillac Ranch is a shrine to the love of the open road.