RRPC: Public Art, Privately Provided, Part Two

As I was compiling my Round Robin entry last night, I found myself getting bogged down with what one might call the kitschy, Roadside America end of the public art spectrum. I spent at least an hour searching for my photos of dinosaurs and giant lumberjacks, and although I didn't find everything I wanted, I still ended up with far too much material for a single entry. So here we go: Public Art, Part Two: Prehistoric Pitchmen and Other Outdated Artifacts of Advertising Art Americana. Or something like that!

First stop on our tour of Tucson's roadside art: the Dinosaur McDonald's at Grant and Tanque Verde:

There he is! the T. Rex McSaurus!

(Thanks for Sara for the nickname suggestion.)

The world's friendliest T. Rex? Maybe.

Look at the evidence. He waves an American flag on the Fourth of July, and at Christmas he wears antlers and pulls a sleigh. Nice lizard! On the other hand...

Red means stop! Violators will be eaten!

Not content with the cameras that record red light runners at key intersections, the city has hired our friend to take more drastic measures as needed.

The other dinosaur checks her reflection.

Around back is another dinosaur with her babies. She's a Maiasaura (meaning "good mother lizard").

Don't cry, baby dinosaur!

And here are her babies. I don't why the mother and baby both get the eye discharge. Maybe it's genetic. Or maybe they're both just upset about something.

What? No Shamrock Shakes? But...but...!

Next stop: El Toro, the Brave Black Bull. He and his matador have been hanging out in the Casa Molina Restaurant parking lot (on Speedway near Wilmot) since the late 1940s.

"We've both seen better days, old friend."

He currently needs a new coat of paint, and I wish people would stop giving him star spangled...um...well, see for yourself.

Does this mean I'm marching in a parade?

Nearby is another large herbivore, the Winged Bison of Copper Country.

Not many winged bisons like to ride in boats.

I previously showed you the bizarre bison when he was in a silver space suit, standing next to a flying saucer, in honor of the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory's Mars Lander. This week he's thanking our nation's military by standing on a red, white and blue boat.

Does this color look good on me?

He's not one to pick a look and go with it, our winged bison friend. The first time I saw him, he was hot pink!

I made a number of other stops today, including Fort Lowell to see a somewhat more traditional statue, and OK Feed and Grain, where a painted pony stands on the roof. They don't quite fit my criteria for this entry, so those shots will have to wait for another time. And the full complement of critters and mythological figures is still at Magic Carpet Golf, months and months after the place closed. You can see a bunch of shots, some of them from past RRPCs, by following my Magic Carpet Golf tag. And of course there's also the Kon Tiki, the classic tiki lounge that I've photographed at least twice before, including an outdoor tiki head. But no tour of Tucson's roadside Americana-style public art would be complete without a pilgrimage to two more local landmarks:

No, he's not Paul Bunyan, or a Muffler Man.*

He's Glenn Stone, the axe murderer!

*See Roadside America for the story of the muffler men.

Okay, I take it back. He is both a Paul Bunyan and a muffler man, and he's never hurt anyone as far as I know. I've told his story before. His name, Glenn Stone, comes from the fact that he stands at the corner of Glenn and Stone. At the moment, his shirt needs cleaning (birds, you know), and his face needs a touch up. Also, his right arm looks as though he's undergone Tommy John surgery. Or something.

The last one I had trouble finding. I couldn't remember which street it was on, anywhere from Oracle to Campbell, from Grant to Roger. It eventually turned up on First near Grant. Behold: the giant concrete wine bottle!


I could swear it used to look much more interesting.

Karen


Linking List:

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Momma - Posted!
Sandcastle Momma
http://sandcastlemomma.blogspot.com

TJ - Posted! 8/23
TJ's Photo Blog
http://tjphotoexpressions.blogspot.com/

Annie - Posted!
Pictures of Craziness
http://krspkrmmom.blogspot.com

AND...

Me and My Phone - Posted!
http://neemom.blogspot.com

Wammy - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://www.theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Vicki - Posted!
Maraca
http://mymaracas.blogspot.com/

Molly - Posted!
Return of the White Robin
http://returnofthewhiterobin.blogspot.com

Riccardo
Photo Blog (Private blog)
http://riccardophotoblog.blogspot.com/

Pamela - Posted!
The Dust Will Wait
http://thedustwillwait.blogspot.com/

Swampy - Posted!
Anecdotes, Antidotes, & Anodes
http://anecdotes.typepad.com

Sahvvy
Instantaneous Exsistence
http://instantaneousexsistence.blogspot.com/

Em Dy - Posted!
Captured Beat
http://capturedbeat.blogspot.com

Jama Hameed - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Jennifer Robin - Posted!
Robin's Woods
http://robinswoods.blogspot.com/

Teena - Posted!
It's all about me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Charish -Posted!
Charish-Me
http://www.charish-me.blogspot.com

Maryt - Posted!
Work of the Poet
http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com

Second Tries and Lost Opportunities

I'm really, really tired, so I'm going to rush this entry and go to bed. But notice, please, that with Shelly's help I've got the blog set up pretty much the way I want it. Thanks, Shelly!


Today was one of those rare days when I get miles and miles away from Wilmot Road, the corridor that pretty much defines where I eat, sleep, work and worship. A friend asked me to take her shopping on Oracle Rd., in the northwest part of Tucson. On the way, we happened to pass this big fellow. Roadside America calls his ilk "muffler men," because many of these giant figures hold mufflers in their huge hands. This fellow is more properly a Paul Bunyan, made by the same company, International Fiberglass, in the 1960s and 1970s. The company started making these giant lumberjacks before adapting them as muffler men, cowboys, Indians, and even spacemen.

This particular Paul Bunyan figure is at the corner of Glenn and Stone Avenues in Tucson, in front of a hot rod supply shop. His nickname is "Glenn Stone, the axe murderer." Rumor has it that rookie cops are told to respond to a call about a big man wielding an axe at Glenn and Stone. Years ago, I bought a Mercury Capri right across the street from old Glenn. I like him. At Christmas they sometimes give him a candy cane to hold instead of his axe. For at least 20 years I've been wanting to write a story about one of these guys coming to life. but I've never managed to get an actual plot worked out. Maybe I should just take it from the top and make it up as I go along, as I pretty much always do.


When I came out of church this morning, there was actual snow on the mountains again, but this time with no clouds. It was starting to melt, though, as I left the house again an hour later. But the time I reached Oracle Road with my friend, it was all gone. Drat! But I did manage this shot of the Catalinas reddened by sunset, and much closer as seen from, um, I think it was Roger Road. (The garish yellow building is a local mattress factory; I like that, too.) Even the red on the mountains was gone by the time I dropped off my friend a few minutes later, and was free to pursue the photography. Moral: when a photo op appears, drop everything and take the shot!

Karen