Last week GM Authority reported about the passing of the Cadillac Ranch’s benefactor, Stanley Marsh 3. The timing was unfortunate because Stanley Marsh 3’s life ended just short of the 40th anniversary of his “baby,” a roadside attraction that may appear kitsch from the outset but has managed to show its true colors as a pop art landmark.
Since 1974, the sequence of 1948 to 1963 Cadillacs have weathered curiosity-seekers, Dazed and Confused stoners, and cowboys (among others), layers of paint (both traditional and the spray kind), and even a move two miles down the road. “Those Cadillacs are buried there kind of as a tribute to our conspicuous consumption of the late 50’s and early 60’s,” Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council representative, Eric Miller, told Amarillo’s News Channel 10. “Mr. Marsh who developed it was certainly a very eccentric personality, I think it all rolled up into this incredible experience.”
The Cadillac Ranch has blossomed into what’s considered one of America’s best-known quirky landmarks (USA Today even has it in the running for one of its 10Best series) that is likely to endure more paint from those seeking to contemplate whatever they wish to think about out in the frontier.
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