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A Nip and a Tuck for Cadillac Ranch
| May 30, 2002 |
Amarillo |
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 It's hardly 30 years old, but already it's gotten a face-lift.
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo's world-famous lineup of half-buried Caddies, was treated yesterday to a makeover. As part of their Save-A-Landmark campaign, Hampton Inns restored eccentric millionaire Stanley Marsh 3's roadside icon to its former glory.
Over the years, the ten Cadillacs comprising the work of art have been ravaged by the elements and covered over with years of ever-changing graffiti. Hampton Inns, which has been working to restore such landmarks along historic Route 66, painted the classic vehicles to the original yellow, blue and green hues that they sported when first buried back in 1974. The cars were also given new tires.
Over the years, it had become common practice to bring a can of spray paint when visiting the attraction and leave one's mark. After the restoration, however, that practice will most likely be deemed inconsiderate.
To see Cadillac Ranch as it appeared before the restoration, check out Texas Twisted's own Cadillac Ranch feature. |
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In Your Face, Dorris
| May 28, 2002 |
Laredo |
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Yesterday's Memorial Day celebration in Laredo, just north of the Texas-Mexico border, included the inaugural raising of an enormous American flag.
At 50 feet by 100 feet, the flag comes far short of the world's largest, but does adorn what is now the Tallest Flagpole in the United States. Reaching 308 feet into the sky and topped by a ball five feet in diameter, it beats out the previous 200-foot record holder still touted as America's tallest by the Dorris Lions Club in California.
The Laredo National Bank erected the flagpole to complement the 164-foot-by-94-foot Mexican flag raised in 1998 just across the border in Nuevo Laredo, one of several "megabanderas" displayed along the U.S.-Mexico border that some sensitive Americans saw as a challenge to the United States.
Yet to be built is a park that will accompany America's tallest flagpole, displaying flags from every country. |
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Now You'll Wait to Go After You Leave
| May 27, 2002 |
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The Texas Department of Transportation hopes to soon make your pit stops a little more pleasurable.
About a fourth of the state's 101 rest areas, situated along its expansive highways, will be replaced with better and safer facilities. Many of the rest stops, which were built in the 1960s, are in bad shape and, as the seasoned Texas traveler knows, can be uninviting, especially at night. (Not to mention smelly, especially during the day.)
The new installations, being implemented over the next 10 years, will feature hot water and soap in every restroom, better lighting, air conditioning, large information centers and 24-hour maintenance. The facilities will also incorporate regional designs into their architecture.
It's hoped that the $262-million project will help to lower highway accidents by making weary drivers actually want to stop, even if they aren't doing the Pee-pee Dance. |
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A City Tired
| May 20, 2002 |
Atlanta |
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An ongoing conflict in far East Texas has brought to light a previously little-known, man-made wonder.
The source of the conflict is a 150-acre site just north of Atlanta, Texas brimming with some 30 million shredded and whole tires. The site is the largest tire dump in the nation, and possibly the world.
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission wants to bury the tires, which are currently stacked into nearly 100 piles, towering 20 feet high. It argues that the "city of rubber," as it calls it, is safer below ground, due to the risk of a catastrophic fire. A group of Atlanta business people, however, is campaigning against the idea, stopping the commission in its tracks. They're demanding an alternative solution.
Texas Twisted recommends that the commission turn the rubberscape into a tourist attraction, which could be used to raise money for other environmental efforts by selling off the tire chunks as Lucite-encased souvenirs. |
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Big Star
| May 19, 2002 |
Austin |
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2003 will see the debut of a new Imax film titled "These Texas Lands."
Among other Lone Star landmarks, the large-scale film will feature the enormous statue of Sam Houston that overlooks Interstate 45 in Huntsville. The 67-foot, concrete-and-steel monument is the World's Tallest Statue of an American Hero.
The 40-minute documentary will attempt to tell the story of Texas with its use of state landmarks. It premieres at the new Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, and after a year, will begin playing across the state.
Although the museum's Imax screen is 6 stories high, Big Sam will still appear smaller than life. |
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Are You an Art Collector?
| May 13, 2002 |
Art |
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The entire town of Art, TX is for sale. Owner and musician Randy Gaulding got married and decided to move to San Antonio, so he's put the whole shebang up for purchase. He's asking just under $300,000.
Gaulding was working to turn Art into a musical center, bringing musicians from all over the state to play for his Art After Dark shows.
Art, situated about 90 miles northwest of Austin, consists of little more than a Victorian house, a guest house, the Hoo Doo Cafe, a small feed store, a post office and a small church.
The only two citizens are a couple who rent the house. If you bought the town, you could make yourself their mayor.
Thanks to Kevin Doyle for the story lead. |
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On a Roll
| May 5, 2002 |
Bedford |
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Pat Jasper likes to collect something that other people tend to leave behind them — toilet paper. But not just any toilet paper. International toilet paper.
Jasper's unusual hobby began in 1975 while touring Europe on a budget. She discovered that visitors to the john (sorry, loo) not only had to pay for the privilege of using the facilities, but also had to fork over a few cents for tushy tissue. And with a bit left over, the paper chase began.
The collection sports a variety of colors and includes textures that would give most people pause. Then there's the menthol-medicated paper from London.
Jasper's assemblage of pay-per-wipe, along with photos of worldwide toilets, is currently on display at the Old Bedford School through July 3. Stop by and be flush with amazement. |
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You'll Just Have to Watch It in Time-Lapse
| May 4, 2002 |
Fort Worth |
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 The Bank One Tower, the Fort Worth building that was severely damaged by a tornado in March 2000, will not be imploded.
Officials have said that since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 of last year, insurance for an implosion has become prohibitively expensive. Had the owners of the 454-foot-tall tower been able to bring down the building as originally hoped, the Bank One Tower would have become the tallest structure ever imploded.
Now the owners are simply hoping for logistic and financial support from the city to help demolish the eyesore over a 15-month period.
Had the owners simply charged $5 apiece to allow jilted lovers to paste photos of their exes to the building prior to setting the charges, they could easily have recouped their losses. But they never ask me. |
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The Herd Loses One of Its Own
| May 4, 2002 |
Fort Worth |
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Bose, one of the horses that help drive the Fort Worth Herd, died Wednesday.
An 11-year-old gelding, Bose was acquired by the city in 1998 to help initiate the twice-daily longhorn drives along Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Bose was discovered early in the day lying ill in his stall. He was loaded onto a trailer, but passed away before his keepers could reach a clinic. According to veterinarian Dr. Bill Anderson, Bose had mostly likely suffered from acute colic.
The much-loved horse was named for Bose Ikard, an African-American cowboy who was the inspiration for the character Josh Deets in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. |
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