Cadillac Ranch

In 1974 three members of Ant Farm, an alternative architecture group, buried ten Cadillacs nose first in a wheat field west of Amarillo. Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels wanted to show the rise and fall of the tail fin, and the cars span the model years from 1949 to 1963. Their patron was Stanley Marsh 3, an Amarillo millionaire who answered their proposal by saying it was so silly he wanted to give it all his time and attention. He found the cars by advertising for used Cadillacs under the name Leo Wyoming.

In 1997 the whole row was quietly dug up and replanted about two miles farther west, in a pasture along Interstate 40, to keep it ahead of the growing city. Both sites were Marsh land. Over the years the cars have been painted white for a commercial, pink for a birthday, black when Doug Michels died, and then over and over by visitors. Spray paint is now expected, and the original colors are long gone.

The ranch is private land with no staff, hours or fee. Visitors park along the I-40 south frontage road and walk in through a gate and across the pasture, by the owners' leave. The field is muddy after rain. Bring paint if you want to add to it, and carry your empty cans back out.