Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX

The group known as the Ant Farm consisted of members Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michaels. This group was formed in 1974 as an art group. The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas features a public display that is considered to be a sculpture. This art display is made up of older running used Cadillacs or junk Cadillacs when it was constructed in 1974. It is supposed to represent some of the evolutions of the Cadillac car line. They paid considerable homage to the tail fin of the Cadillac that has since been discontinued. It was on the vehicles that were produced from 1949 to 1963.

The Cadillacs were buried engine first into the ground with about half of the vehicle still protruding. The angle that the Cadillacs were placed at supposedly corresponds to the angle at the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The art work makes the statement that Americans love the mobility and freedom of the car and the idea of roadside attractions.

When the exhibit was first erected it was put in a wheat field; however, in 1997 it was moved two miles to the west. It resides in what used to be a cow pasture that is closer to Interstate 40. They moved it because of the encroaching growth of the city. Stanley Marsh the Third is the patron of this project and many others around the city of Amarillo.

Visitors to Amarillo can see the Cadillac Ranch from the I-40. The land that the ranch is on is private, but visitors are encouraged to stop and see the display. People would drive along the frontage road and enter through an unlocked gate. Graffiti or spray painting of the vehicles is encouraged. The original colors of the vehicles are no longer in evidence and are distinctive in their colorizations. Every so often the vehicles are repainted so that they can be used in a commercial or to provide a clean canvas for budding artists.

Cadillac Ranch has been featured in the Disney and Pixar film Cars. Radiator Springs is shown on a map to be near the edge of Cadillac Ranch. Bruce Springsteen has a song on his The River album entitled Cadillac Ranch and it was used in an episode of King of the Hill. The Cadillac Ranch is tied to the old Route 66 highway and has also been used in several music videos.

Other off beat places to visit in Amarillo are the Muffler Man which is about three miles from the Cadillac Ranch, the Helium Time Columns Monument four miles away, Guardian of the Arts six miles away and a swimming pool shaped like the State of Texas thirteen miles away.

Restaurants that are near the Cadillac Ranch include: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, On the Border Mexican Grill, Joe's Crab Shack, Hooters Restaurant, Big Texan Steak Ranch, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill, and Fazoli's. Hotels close to the Cadillac Ranch exit are Baymont Inn & Suites, Super 8, Travelodge, America's Best Value Inn, Ambassador Hotel, Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Fairfield Inn.