Standing as a tribute to all things artsy and kitschy at the same time, the Texas monument that is Cadillac Ranch has attracted many a hunter of Americana (that’s Americana not Texarkana) on the outskirts of Amarillo. Like a billboard that nobody anticipates, its remoteness in North Texas is partially its appeal. The other part is a yearning to maybe make oneself a part of state history, and leave your mark in the spray-painted annals of Texas time. Whichever the reason, you should make your way out to this monolith of the industrial age in a setting which can’t help but evoke the sensation of stark contrast, and sidle up to the second most famous state attraction (wait, on whose ranking?) of the roadside variety.
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Cadillac Ranch: A Texas Monolith to Commerce, Krylon, and Kitsch
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Photo: Facebook/Elaina’s Photography
For decades now, the Cadillac Ranch has lured visitors full of curiosity just west of Amarillo along Route 66. A dusty field full of the seeds of inquisitiveness, as well as a few planted Cadillac models of course, promises great state nostalgia and draws Texans, Texpats, and tourists of all shapes and sizes like moths to a flame. The brainchild of a bygone era, the art installation came into being post-Route 66 heydays and continues to qualify the American spirit. A prime example of Texas roadside stops that we’ve all read about, there are tributes galore in this manifestation of the mind’s eye. The Detroit tailfin appears to be one of them, as the sightline across the Panhandle positions these once-luxury Cadillac rear ends, (ranging in make from the late forties to the early sixties) to model this long-lost automotive detail.
Photo: Facebook/HomeGrown Texan
Although classic car buffs might be nearer a heart attack for having gazed upon Cadillac Ranch, Texans in general have taken it to their bosom in fondness and love – many of whom have returned over the generations to share with their children at the same ages they themselves perhaps first visited. Many that stop will leave something of themselves behind in the form of an aerosol tag, if you will, scrawled across any number of inches the Ranch inhabits. Words of adoration, common trivia, “Jenny was here”, and so on, can be found in immeasurable layers of Krylon across the butts of 10 Cadillacs, facing west in a line. The appeal is as immeasurable itself, but its ability to cross divides of time and capture memories for those making the pilgrimage remains ensured.
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