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Cadillac Ranch
Rating Details »
20 reviews for Cadillac Ranch
Regardless of the original intent, Cadillac Ranch is also a tribute to America's Route 66. It's not hard to find Route 66 relics by making turnoffs from Interstate 40 across the Texas Panhandle and in Oklahoma. See also the museum in Clinton, OK, or the miniscule town of McLean, TX, east of Amarillo.
Because the car bodies are left unprotected, there is always a new coat of paint and grafitti to be seen, so as a work of art the site is always changing.
Don't believe those who say there's nothing to see around Amarillo. Let's see, there's Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, Elkins Ranch, and the White Deer Land Museum in Pampa, not to mention the wineries around Lubbock.
I also write longer reviews of unique travel sites around Los Angeles and southern California. See those articles here: http://www.examiner.co...
So much fun! Bring a camera and something to add your graffiti :D definately worth a stop!!
Driving across Texas isn't the most exciting thing...well except for random stops at the scarily hickish Waffle Houses, George Bush's fancy highway oases and perhaps the giant cross that makes you want to pull over and get on your knees [to pray you perves!] for speeding and cutting off the various cars behind you. This is, of course, until you come across the Cadillac Ranch.
Truly random yet it must be the magnetism of the metal cars that pulls the hidden tourist inside you towards it. Why else would I run wild with a strong farm stench while having to dodge the largest cow paddies I've ever seen with each step taken?? I found this during my Route 66 cross-country trip within one of my dorky R66 library books (shh).
***For all those Chicagoans, it's definitely worth a visit just to graffiti something with your symbol, nickname or stencil since Mayor Daley banned spray paint here in our big-shouldered city! [See my very own self with the cars in my profile pics.]
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WTF?? is what you'll be saying too when you see this odd monstrosity on the side of the I-40. Cadillacs buried in the dirt?! Again, WTF??
If you are driving across the country like we did and on the historic route 66, do stop by this exhibit. Totally odd but definitely awesome. And then you can show the pictures to your friends and they can say WTF also and "where the hell did you guys go??" Be sure to bring a sharpie or spray can with you to leave your mark because tagging is highly encouraged! Snaps for that!!
Oh yeah, its easy to get lost trying to get here. It is on the right hand side of I-40 EAST, left hand side of I-40 WEST. Directions to this place can be hard to find and inadequate. Its on Frontage Road.
From I-40W: exit Hope Rd (exit 62), merge onto Frontage rd, left on Hope Road, Right on Frontage.
From I-40E: Exit 60 Arnot Rd, merge onto Frontage rd.
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Awesome place!! My dad worked for Stanley Marsh for like 15 years, and was there when Ant Farm put those in. I even have some sweet b&w pics of my dad buried in the ground lol
They have anniversary parties (every 10 years I think), and I went to the last one with my family, like 2005? Open bar all night, fucking sweet! I got so drunk in like 1 hour, vodka tonics and brew. Wind blowing like crazy (of course, its Amarillo!) and getting dirt all in my drink made no difference to me...that is, until we had to leave quickly because a tornado was coming.
Anyway, I digress. Cadillac Ranch will always hold a special place in my heart, my sister took some good pics of it a couple years back
http://www.betterphoto...
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I drove 4,100 miles across the country for my honeymoon, and the Cadillac Ranch is up there with the Avenue of the Giants on my list of most amazing sights.
It is on the NORTH side of I-40 -- this might cause some confusion if you have inadequate directions, as we did. You can park on the frontage road, and walk out into the farmland to find the cars. The horizon is as big as it gets in Texas, and it provides a formidable backdrop for this peculiar sight. Stanley Marsh 3 has to be my favorite eccentric millionaire for this installation, and the giant legs he also installed in Amarillo.
It was great to get out of the car and stretch our legs in the Texas sun on the long haul of I-40, but that's not why I loved it so much. The turquoise, red, orange, and white spray paint we carried with us spelled out "j-u-s-t m-a-r-r-i-e-d," and a fellow patron asked us if we were from California (the closest place gay marriage is legal). The photos we took were amazing. This holds a special place in my honeymoon road trip memories. If you are passing by, please stop. If you are considering a pilgrimage, do it. America is made up of all the weird stuff that happens outside the margins.
If you are into spray painting - beware the wind and dust of West Texas. It is a whole different world from painting in on an alley or street! I wish I had planned ahead a little more and cut a special stencil for our visit, but oh well. Next time!
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Cadillac Ranch is an unexpected mesmerizing experience on the outskirts of Amarillo, Texas. Although created in the early 1970s by an art collective called the Ant Farm, this art installation of ten Cadillacs planted in the ground, has taken on a haunting relevance.
These stuck-in-the-soil tail-finned cars from the 1950s and 1960s represent an America at the height of its cultural influence. Slowly decaying, the cars sit in the middle of an Amarillo farm field looking as if they will soon be subsumed by their surroundings. Does it also represent an America that has been passed by in the 21st century?
I think Cadillac Ranch remains the most important art installation in the United States and, no matter how many times I've seen it, I can't help but be moved by the simple elegance of this setting. This is worth a pilgrimage.
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Whadaya say about a remote location whose claim to fame is a bunch of old Cadillacs stuck in the ground constantly being graffitied? Well, it's unique. And it's a landmark. And its kinda cool because it's one of a kind. You just have to see it to believe it. The story behind it is interesting too. It was worth the trip out of town to see just so I could say I'd been there. And I'd probably go again, especially if I was with someone who hadn't seen it yet. But it's a head scratcher. Why?, you ask yourself. Why does it draw people? Just because it IS, I guess.
http://www.roadsideame...
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On a trek from LA to NYC, you'll see a constant stream of visitors at this ever-popular work of art. Be sure to stop for a can of spray paint or two on your way through one of the neighboring cities. You won't want to miss this experience. Word to the wise: the dusty winds add a new dimension to the painting.
Totally worth the stop!
I'm a fan because it's such a whimsical concept.
I do call this art and appreciate it.
I don't take it too seriously but the very idea of this remote location featuring random Cadillacs stuck in the ground, it's just too random and novel of an idea. Bravo.
I wouldn't make a special trip to see this. But if you are traveling to Amarillo, or driving through it, just make it a point to go there if you are one of those who like to brag that you've seen some iconic structure (much like the car spindle, which I incidentally missed).
A West Texas colleague summarized it best when she said it is a revolving piece of pop art. Bring a Sharpie, or spray cans like most others before, and leave your mark on those cars.
It's easy to miss even if you're looking for it. The line of cars are not close to the shoulder of the road as one would expect. Outside of the line of strip malls and restaurants along I-44 is a vast expanse of dirtland, and there sits Cadillac Ranch. No signs point you to it so keep your eyes peeled for a line of metal in the distance or if you're lucky, a line of cars may form along the shoulder to provide some direction.
Intrepid artist, helium millionaire and professional weirdo Stanley Marsh 3 is responsible for this iconic bit of artistic Americana. There is plenty of information on the "statements" surrounding this art piece to be found online, but suffice it to say that it is very quirky and fun and unusual.
It is located on a segment of Historic Route 66 that has been incorporated by Interstate 40. You can park your vehicles on the shoulder and walk out through the pasture to get up close and personal with the vintage caddies, and for your creative involvement, Stanley Marsh 3 and his art minions regularly provide cans of spray paint to be used in keeping Cadillac Ranch properly graffitied.
Phenomenal. Do it. And check the boulevards of Amarillo for Stanley Marsh 3's irreverent street signs.
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What was the artist thinking take several Cadillacs bury them front bumper down and let anyone paint them.. Sounds like fun to me. Located west of Amarillo on the north side of I-44 in the middle of a field with street parking.
If you bring your own spray paint you can contribute to the art.
Do everyone a favor pick up some trash from around the cars.
Those are all old Cadillacs and they are planted within eye distance on the south side of IS 40, just West of Amarillo Tx. The story, told to me a frequent bus driver through those flat lands was this: That ground was once farmed by a rich eccentric old fart name Stanley Marsh. Then when he died, his son struck it rich on natural Helium that used in the blimps during WWI. His name was Stanley Marsh II. Then in 1948, the grandson discoveed oil rich pockets below the Helium. Each year, from 1950 to 1966, Stanley Marsh III would buy him a new Cadillac, never change the oil or wash it. He used and abused it as a farmer uses a pick up truck. Then at the beginning of the new release year, instead of trading it in, he would drive the new but very beat up caddy out on the planes and bury it head-first in the land that made him rich. Then of course, it was local high school kids that would come and paint the cars before their graduation.
Great Story and a good tune to go with it!
Just stop here if you are driving by for crying out loud. You will feel hella cool once you take your photo with one, standing next to whatever you spraypainted on it. It's just kooked out and funness and I'm SO a fun kook.
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This place was awesome. What a wacky concept but it works. In the middle of nowhere, its quite a place. We took some cool pictures here even caught a great sunset. (SEE PICTURE)
cadillac ranch has definitely seen its hey day awhile ago, but i don't care. i love it. if you google it, you'll see pictures back from when it was constructed in the 70s. the ground was still lush farm land and cars still resembling cadillacs in their normal state.
today the cadillac ranch exists as several graffiti-fied skeletons of caddies in the middle of a dust lovin barren waste land. it's a long walk under the hot texas sun from your car on the road to the caddies. but i don't care.
the cadillac ranch is cool.
it's not the same as when it was built, but it's morphed into a completely different type of art. and all the same- worthy of a stop. free.
free stops? ok.
free stops and cool random things in texas.
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This is so random. There are a bunch of Cadillac's buried into the ground on the west side of Amarillo, right next to I-40 between exit 60 and 62. They are heavily graffitied and are just sitting there. It was weird and odd and I just had to stop for a photo op. I don't know what made whoever did this do what they did but it's a fantastic little quirk in the landscape. This is definitely something that you should stop by for a few minutes to take some photos.
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so random and quirky that you have to stop.
we forgot to pick up our own spray paint, but if you bring it, you can leave your own mark.
if you're doing the whole rt. 66 thing, it takes 5 min to stop.
The cadillac ranch sounds a lot cooler than it really is, but its worth a stop on your way to or from Amarillo. I wouldn't make a special trip out there though. It's fun to read the different messages painted on the cars. The path leading up to the cars is all dirt so make sure you are not wearing anything too nice, especially with the Panhandle winds whipping up.
