Cadillac Ranch

Amarillo, Texas, United States

Public art

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Ten Cadillac sedans buried nose-first at a 60-degree angle in a field beside Interstate 40 west of Amarillo, Texas. Ant Farm artists Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels completed it in 1974 with an Amarillo arts patron; visitors have long covered the cars in spray paint.

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Cadillac Ranch

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 35.1872° N, 101.9871° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Ten Cadillacs stand with their tail fins in the air in a Texas Panhandle field, and visitors have long covered them in spray paint. Cadillac Ranch was completed in June 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels of the Ant Farm art collective, with funding and land from an Amarillo arts patron.

Texas Highways reports that Lord and Michels proposed a monument to the rise and fall of the Cadillac tail fin, with a budget of $250 for a backhoe and $300 for each of the 10 cars. The cars were buried nose-first at a 60-degree angle; the oldest was a 1949 model, and Route 66 historian Nick Gerlich told KFDA they cover about 15 years of tail-fin design. A party on 21 June 1974 marked the finished work. A CBS television segment by Kuralt helped bring attention, and the patron called it, in Texas Highways, "the most important roadside attraction of our generation."

In 1997 the cars were dug up and moved two miles west. Texas Highways noted that Amarillo was growing and parking-lot lights had become visible at the original site. Graffiti was not part of the original plan, but Texas Highways says it has become tradition. An owner's family member told the magazine: "Every mark is permanent, but it's also temporary." He said a merchandise truck on site sells spray paint and drinks, and that there are no bathrooms, running water or shade.

Texas Highways put visits at more than 1.4 million a year; Gerlich estimated more than 1 million in 2026. Texas Highways said in 2024 that the site is privately owned by the family of its original patron, and that the family was looking at options to preserve the cars. KFDA reported in September 2026 that there is no admission fee, that people visit at any hour and that cars can back up on the frontage road, with parking sometimes two-tenths of a mile away.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Ten buried cars covered in spray paint, in an open field. KFDA reported in September 2026 no admission fee and visitors at any hour. Texas Highways said in 2024 that a truck sells spray paint and drinks, and that there are no bathrooms, running water or shade. The land is privately owned, per Texas Highways in 2024.

ACCESS

13651 I-40 Frontage Road, beside Interstate 40 west of Amarillo (KFDA, September 2026). The land is privately owned, per Texas Highways in 2024. Parking on the frontage road can be some distance away when busy.

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