Cost overruns, late delivery of Route 66 statue irk councilor February 16, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions.add a comment
An artist's rendering of the "East Meets West" statue.
A Tulsa city councilor expressed dismay Thursday over a large statue at Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza near downtown that is $83,000 over its initial cost and more than two years late, reported the Tulsa World.
The $1.1 million statue, titled “East Meets West,” is funded by the Vision 2025 sales tax.
“This just seems like a classic government boondoggle where the taxpayer ends up paying the price for somebody else’s mistake,” Councilor G.T. Bynum said.
The statue depicts Avery and his family in a Model-T approaching a horse-drawn carriage in which the horses appear surprised. It will be 40 feet long and 14 1/2 feet tall. [...]
Bynum said he was told last year that the statue was to be installed in May or June, “and we’re still waiting on it.”
According to the report, the council was told that the artist’s health issues delayed the project, and the cost of materials for the statue went up during the delay.
I don’t know whether city officials simply used the term “health issues” or elaborated. The artist, Robert Summers, suffered catastrophic injuries in a fall that required many months to recover. From what I’ve heard, he’s lucky he’s not pushing up daisies.
An increased cost of less than 8 percent isn’t bad in a two-year period, given the usual rate of inflation. Regardless, Bynum is right to be irritated.
Many public-works projects are bonded in the case the work is late or can’t be done. Perhaps the city should have insisted that this project be bonded as well.
The newspaper says the statue may be delivered by August.
Pontiac may land another museum February 16, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Museums.add a comment
The Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., may acquire yet another museum — one dedicated to the art of gilding, or placing a thin coat of gold on objects, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The nonprofit Society of Gilders is considering establishing the museum. Urban J. Billmeier was one of the gilders who gave a pitch to the city council:
Billmeier said the society is hoping to find a place where it can to open a small museum to showcase its collection and house an annual convention and possibly classrooms for seminars.
“We have members who are on the East Coast and members on the West Coast,” Billmeier said. “One of the things that attracted us to Pontiac was the fact that it is centrally located.”
The society, which has about 300 members, is making use of temporary space in the International Walldog Mural Museum to promote the society and build interest in the craft.
According to the Pontiac Daily Leader:
The ISOG, which formed in 1986, has examples of work and items for sale currently at the Walldog Museum, but the group is looking for a much bigger space, maybe up to 20-by-60 feet, to house The Swift Collection.
Billmeier explained the Swift Company was a gold leaf producer and in the late 1800s used hand-hammered methods to produce gold-leaf, papery thin sheets of gold used to enhance all types of art works, wood workings, sculptures and signs.
“Even when they switched to machines to process the thin sheets, they left the old ‘beating stations’ alone. The company later closed and we were given these old stations and other tools and items of the trade. We are looking for a place where this equipment can be set up and displayed intact. We have approached several places that were interested, but only wanted certain pieces or could not accommodate the entire display,” he said.
Pontiac already hosts the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, the Pontiac Oakland Automotive Museum, Livingston County War Museum, and the previously mentioned Walldog Museum.
This video shows a basic way to gild architectural details in your home:
A day at the Santa Monica Pier February 12, 2012
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This excellent video by Tony Leech uses time-lapse and tilt-shift effects to show scenes at the Santa Monica Pier, the traditional western end of Route 66:
Music is “Wassup You Guys!” by M. Bison.
Odell Station in miniature February 5, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Gas stations.1 comment so far
Willem Bor, a resident of the Netherlands who has created miniature versions of Route 66 landmarks, has finished a new one — the historic Odell Station in Odell, Ill., in 1/25th scale. Bor even made a miniature of the travel trailer that sits next to it.
More of Bor’s work can be seen here, here, and here.
Also, Bor’s Route 66 Art blog shows more of his work.
(Photos courtesy of Willem Bor)
Should Joplin provide tornado maps? January 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Events, Towns, Weather.1 comment so far
A new map that details the path of a deadly tornado that ravaged Joplin, Mo., is being distributed by the local chamber of commerce, reported KOAM-TV in nearby Pittsburg, Kan. And that’s causing a few headaches for the agency.
The station reported:
The map is being put out by the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau (on Facebook) and marks the path of the tornado, showing visitors where they can find certain tornado landmarks, like the remnants of Saint John’s and Joplin High School.
Some residents fear the city is trying to capitalize on tornado tourism. A Facebook has recently been created called Joplin Citizens Against Tornado Tours. [...]
“We are not actively promoting ‘tornado tours’” says the Director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pat Tuttle.
The Joplin CVB also made this statement on its Facebook page, in part:
For the past seven months, the JCVB office has received numerous phone calls and in-office requests for a map or description of the affected area. These requests come from visiting volunteer groups, contractors and out of state workers, weather watchers, media, writers and bloggers, travel groups, individuals and tour bus operators. The map was produced as a low-cost information piece in response to these types of inquiries. It is not a marketing piece. The purpose of the map was not to “sell” the sites to anyone…it was to provide a snapshot of information to visitors who were already traveling to Joplin and either guide them through the zone using the main roads and staying out of the residential areas as much as possible or to outline where the zone is so that an alternate route for travel could be determined.
Our intention was not to be insensitive or disrespectful of those who lost loved ones or their property. It was simply to address a situation that was already occurring and hopefully help inform our out of town visitors about the devastating effects of the tornado and emphasize the positive efforts of the community working towards recovery.
I don’t think the Joplin CVB is doing the wrong thing here. It seems its intentions were good. It’s just something that got blown out of proportion or misinterpreted because emotions remain raw eight months after the twister. More than 160 people dying and a third of the town being destroyed will keep people on edge.
At the same time, Joplin’s residents are going to have to cope with this disaster. Like it or not, the May 22 tornado has become a major part of the town’s history, and will forever more. The hurt won’t go away completely. But some reconciliation — whether it’s through a monument or an annual memorial service — is needed.
Oklahoma City dealt with its terrorist bombing in 1995 by building the Oklahoma City National Memorial at the site. I’m sure more than a few residents are disturbed it has become a tourist attraction. I hold no doubts that a few visitors are there due solely to morbid fascination. But many other visitors were genuinely moved by the disaster when it happened, and feel compelled to visit the memorial. Best of all, the site also has become a source of comfort for the victims’ families.
And let’s face it — the more visitors that Joplin attracts, the more money goes into coffers and speeds its recovery. I’ve made it a point since the disaster to stop in Joplin every time I’m passing through and ring up some business there. Whether it’s money for gasoline, a meal, or souvenirs, that’s cash that’s pumping into Joplin’s economy.
The damage is profoundly disturbing, as the above video shows, and still is months later. But I recommend stopping to see the Wall of Hope at 20th and Main streets (map here). This is public art that spring up spontaneously. It’s moving and uplifting. You can read the blog post by Emily (aka Redforkhippie) about the wall.
Book review: “Polaroid Photos from Route 66″ January 16, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Books, Photographs.2 comments
Polaroid photography was immensely popular decades ago, but corporation that made it eventually stopped its production as its use faded. But a small but enthusiastic group continues to keep the original Polaroid format alive because of its unique look and unpredictable qualities.
If that description seems to match the boom, bust, and small revival of Route 66, you’re not the only one to have noticed. Christopher Robleski saw it as well, and those parallels prove inescapable in his new photography book, “Polaroid Photos from Route 66″ (160 pages, soft cover, Living Beyond Reality Press, $34.99).
Over the years, Robleski has used more than a dozen Polaroid cameras on the Mother Road to capture hundreds of images. He concentrates on Route 66′s neon signs, many which have become “battered bones and shells of their former glory, bleached by decades of sun, rusted by decades of rain.”
Polaroid film — especially packets that are decades old — sometimes develops unevenly. Shots sometimes provide highly saturated color. Some images come with yellowed or greenish tints. And with the peel-apart instant Fuji film that Robleski occasionally uses, the ragged black glue remains on the edges of the image.
It is the unpredictable nature of instant film that adds intrigue. The partially faded black-and-white image of the Central Camera neon sign in Chicago — especially with its “since 1899″ message — looks like something shot during the Great Depression. And a fuzzy color image of a fast-decaying Zephyr gasoline billboard near Villa Ridge, Mo., adds poignancy.
Among the most striking images are a side-by-side of the neon signs of the Rest Haven Motel in Afton, Okla., and the Rest Haven Court in Springfield, Mo. The former has faded to the point when the “Motel” part is barely legible, and the image’s color seems almost as decayed … washed out to almost a beige. The vintage Rest Haven Court sign, however, appears bright and vibrant, as if the decades have not affected it one iota.
The book may be trip back in time for some readers. In fact, Robleski says a number of the neon signs shown in the book have been “destroyed by weather, by the earth, or by human hands” since he began his Route 66 travels.
One pleasant surprise is Robleski’s writing. Among the essays he sprinkles into the book are musings about the Rock Cafe, Lou Mitchell’s, Blue Swallow Motel, Motel Safari, Whiting Bros. stations, Blue Whale, Munger Moss Motel, and the ghost towns of Texola and Glenrio.
Here’s an excerpt about his experience at one unnamed Route 66 motel:
I picked a homely old motel, no bells-and-whistles. Judging by the motley crew gathered outside their rooms in the front lot, I was going to spend the night in a place clearly rented out to permanent residents. Despite my atypical choice of digs on the road, it wasn’t long before I started to chat with these locals. I listened to them share amazing stories of their constant survival. True, some of their rough paths were self-inflicted. But that wasn’t what I took away from our conversations, as their stories were full of fervent hope. After a few more tall tales and cold beers, I returned to my room for some much needed shut-eye. The following morning, I shook a few hands and moved onto the next town.
There’s no telling how long Robleski’s beloved Polaroid film will remain available. However, the format has been reborn in unexpected ways. Polaroid has been revived in the digital age, with new instant cameras and adaptations for smartphones.
And people who use Instagram, one of the most popular and highly rated Apple iPhone apps, have discovered the joy of unpredictable and intriguing image filters.
Perhaps the old-school film of Polaroid will eventually disappear. But, like Route 66, it likely will live on in an intriguing new way in the 21st century.
(“Polaroid Photos from Route 66″ can be purchased from Robleski’s FadingNostalgia.com site.)
Needles developing a tour for its murals January 4, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Events, Towns.add a comment
The Route 66 town of Needles, Calif., is developing a tour of new murals that have been painted on buildings, reported the Needles Desert Star.
The Needles Economic Development Corporation is developing the pathway for walkers, cyclists, and motorists. The newspaper said:
At the end of last year, the group was working on developing a walk, bike ride and driving tour of all the Route 66 murals that have shown up around town by muralists Dan Louden and Vicky Bowden. The plan is to have those routes figured out and then to encourage local businesses to get murals if they don’t already have one. Any new murals would be included in the various routes. Corporation members also approved setting aside a certain amount of money to be used as grants for businesses wanting a mural. There is to be an application process to get a grant from the corporation.
Davitt said he is anticipating the subcommittee working on the mural project will continue to develop those programs. He is looking forward to seeing what happens with those projects, he continued.
The murals along Route 66 and other downtown buildings even caught the attention of the Los Angeles Times.
On a semi-related note, the newspaper announced plans for the return of the Route 66 Hot Boat and Custom Car Show in Needles on Feb. 24-26.