This past week in a word:
WINDY!
Or maybe I should add a couple of words:
VERY VERY WINDY!
The Amarillo spring wind is back in it's full force, bringing back lots of memories of working on the roof of our addition last spring (or maybe nightmares is more like it). (See here and here and here for examples.)
But I don't want to blog about the wind today. The wind is just one thing Amarillo is known for. I thought it would be fun to blog about a few of the other unique landmarks in Amarillo.
Recently a friend who moved away asked me if I could take a couple of Amarillo pictures for her that she meant to take before they left. I was happy to since I'd been meaning for a while to take some of these pictures for myself and finally had some motivation to go do it. I took the ones she wanted, plus a few more!
A majority of Amarillo's unique landmarks come from Stanley Marsh, 3. I don't know a lot about him other than he's obviously got a lot of money and he's the one who created some of Amarillo's quirky exhibits. Wikipedia describes him as "an artist, philanthropist and prankster." (It also says he didn't want to use the traditional III after his name, but instead the regular number 3.)
One of his best-known exhibits is Cadillac Ranch, which is located off I-40 on the West side of town. I stopped with the kids a few months after we moved here:
Another of his projects is the placement of hundreds of mock road signs found throughout the city (many are located in people's yards). They say all kinds of things and some have only pictures. There are three that I pass on a regular basis:
Someday it would be fun to drive around and see how many you could spot and take pictures of.
He also created this large sign (which is one I wasn't familiar with until my friend asked for a picture):
The Amarillo spring wind is back in it's full force, bringing back lots of memories of working on the roof of our addition last spring (or maybe nightmares is more like it). (See here and here and here for examples.)
But I don't want to blog about the wind today. The wind is just one thing Amarillo is known for. I thought it would be fun to blog about a few of the other unique landmarks in Amarillo.
Recently a friend who moved away asked me if I could take a couple of Amarillo pictures for her that she meant to take before they left. I was happy to since I'd been meaning for a while to take some of these pictures for myself and finally had some motivation to go do it. I took the ones she wanted, plus a few more!
A majority of Amarillo's unique landmarks come from Stanley Marsh, 3. I don't know a lot about him other than he's obviously got a lot of money and he's the one who created some of Amarillo's quirky exhibits. Wikipedia describes him as "an artist, philanthropist and prankster." (It also says he didn't want to use the traditional III after his name, but instead the regular number 3.)
One of his best-known exhibits is Cadillac Ranch, which is located off I-40 on the West side of town. I stopped with the kids a few months after we moved here:
Another of his projects is the placement of hundreds of mock road signs found throughout the city (many are located in people's yards). They say all kinds of things and some have only pictures. There are three that I pass on a regular basis:
Someday it would be fun to drive around and see how many you could spot and take pictures of.
He also created this large sign (which is one I wasn't familiar with until my friend asked for a picture):
I have no idea how big the "Actual Size" letters are, but they must be good-sized to see them from so far away.
And finally, there is the "floating mesa," which I drive past many times each week on my way to and from the kid's school. The story we were told about the floating mesa is that he (Stanley Marsh, 3) added the colored band just below the top with the idea that when it matched the color of the sky, it would appear as if the mesa on top were floating. We’ve never seen it appear to even remotely match the color of the sky, so it always just looks like one giant blank billboard to us.
As you drive around Amarillo, you also might notice lots of uniquely painted horse statues on street corners, in front of businesses, and so forth. These have nothing to do with Stanley Marsh, 3 (that I know of), but are related to the American Quarter Horse Association. Here's one in front of our pediatrician's office:
And another at a nearby medical office:
There is a big American Quarter Horse Museum here that I'd like to take the kids to someday.
So if you're ever driving through a windy place and pass a few horse statues and some eccentric art, you'll know you must be in Amarillo!
And finally, there is the "floating mesa," which I drive past many times each week on my way to and from the kid's school. The story we were told about the floating mesa is that he (Stanley Marsh, 3) added the colored band just below the top with the idea that when it matched the color of the sky, it would appear as if the mesa on top were floating. We’ve never seen it appear to even remotely match the color of the sky, so it always just looks like one giant blank billboard to us.
As you drive around Amarillo, you also might notice lots of uniquely painted horse statues on street corners, in front of businesses, and so forth. These have nothing to do with Stanley Marsh, 3 (that I know of), but are related to the American Quarter Horse Association. Here's one in front of our pediatrician's office:
And another at a nearby medical office:
There is a big American Quarter Horse Museum here that I'd like to take the kids to someday.
So if you're ever driving through a windy place and pass a few horse statues and some eccentric art, you'll know you must be in Amarillo!
Seriously, though, there is a lot about this area that we have come to love and enjoy. The quirky stuff just makes it more fun!
1 comment:
Ahhh...Amarillo. I think you summed up my thoughts exactly!
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