Blue Whale vandalized February 19, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation.1 comment so far
It was discovered Saturday morning that the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., was vandalized in recent days.
According to KOTV in Tulsa:
Vandals wrote what is believed to be their names on the cultural icon, which was built in 1972, and Catoosa police are investigating. Police are not releasing photos of the graffiti because they feel it will hinder the investigation.
It is unknown when the act occurred, but a member of the Catoosa Arts and Tourism Society/Fins of the Blue Whale took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to address the situation.
“I’m kinda sad….some vandals have defaced my new paint job. I don’t know why people feel the need to do that, I’m just so disappointed.”
According to another report by KTUL-TV in Tulsa, the Route 66 landmark had 15 areas of graffiti.
I happened to be at the Blue Whale that morning to help volunteers remove Christmas lights from it and the nearby Ark. A few observations:
- As indicated in the KOTV report, the vandals very likely implicated themselves with their own graffiti. Within an hour, locals already had a pretty good idea who at least two of them were.
- Members of Catoosa Arts and Tourism Society/Fins of the Blue Whale initially didn’t want to publicize the vandalism, but had a change of heart by afternoon.
- It probably would be overstating it to say the vandalism “defaced” the Blue Whale. The graffiti was done with what appears to be a Sharpie marker over small areas. The graffiti isn’t apparent until you get close to the whale.
- I’ve visited the Blue Whale site dozens of times over the years, and this was the first incident of vandalism I can recall to the whale since it was restored in the late 1990s. The Blue Whale is such an icon, the perpetrators will become pariahs in their community if they’re caught.
- Even before the graffiti, the Blue Whale was scheduled to get another coat of paint within a few weeks by the Bill Haynes Co., which made some much-needed initial repairs to the landmark last summer.
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.
The building of Ornament Valley February 16, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Movies.add a comment
The Disney Parks Blog has posted this neat video of the Ornament Valley being constructed at Cars Land of the Disney California Adventure park:
Led by Zsolt Hormay, our rockwork art director, this incredible team of artisans from around the world have spent approximately two years growing, sculpting and painting our mountain. It’s been fascinating to watch it grow.
We’re getting ready to say goodbye to this talented team of folks as the mountain nears completion. Click on this video and take a look at Zsolt explaining the process and what it takes to speed up Mother Nature. I think you’ll agree that our finished product is spectacular!
Cars Land is inspired by the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, as depicted in the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated film “Cars.” The Cadillac Range part of Ornament Valley in the film was inspired by the Cadillac Ranch public art installation near Amarillo and the Black Mountains of western Arizona — both of which are found off the real-life Route 66. Other features are inspired by Tucumcari Mountain near Tucumcari, N.M.; the red bluffs near the Arizona-New Mexico border, and hood ornaments on classic cars.
Cars Land is scheduled to open sometime this summer.
Missouri eatery named best British restaurant February 15, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Restaurants.add a comment
Here’s something I bet you never thought you’d see — a restaurant in Springfield, Mo., has been named the best British eatery outside United Kingdom.
The Telegraph, a major newspaper in England, bestowed that honor to Farmers Gastropub. Here’s what The Telegraph said about the restaurant, just south of downtown Springfield:
Described by its nominator as “a little piece of Britain in the heart of America”, this welcoming gastropub was highly commended in our last competition and this year managed to scoop the prize for top restaurant. We imagine its 26 draught beers will be flowing freely to celebrate.
According to the News-Leader newspaper in Springfield, owner Bill Griffiths is a former resident of the United Kingdom. He moved to Springfield so his wife could be closer to her family.
The News-Leader also gave a few details about the Telegraph’s honor:
The paper has an expatriate edition aimed at U.K citizens living elsewhere in the world. Griffiths registered the Farmers Gastropub with The Telegraph after he opened the doors, but believes he knows who nominated it for the annual honor.
“I think David Crump, an Englishman who used to own the Global Fayre business here, was the first to vote for us,” Griffiths said. “After we opened in 2009, this fellow walked in with a British accent and said ‘Am I dreaming?’”
The News-Leader says the restaurant has gained customers from the Mother Road. Farmers Gastropub sits just a few blocks south of the East St. Louis Street alignment of Route 66:
Route 66 also has helped deliver a steady stream of expatriates to his restaurant’s doorstep.
“Route 66 is popular with Brits who come here to drive the Mother Road,” Griffiths said, referring to the historic highway that swings through the heart of Springfield.
Expect more Britons to patronize the restaurant during the upcoming tourist season. Those in the Route 66 tourism industry expect a surge of UK travelers after the highly rated “Billy Connolly’s Route 66″ aired on British television last fall.
According to the restaurant’s website:
We’re a friendly, unpretentious neighborhood pub that serves good food. Really good food in fact.
The on e thing that drives the creation of FARMERS GASTROPUB is the absolute and passionate resolve that good food is not rocket science, and that it does not have to cost the earth.
FARMERS GASTROPUB is one of Springfield, Missouri’s only restaurants and pubs dedicated to fresh, local, sustainable, and natural/organic dining and drinking. We feature ingredients from local farmers. We buy supplies, to the extent possible, that are sustainable and recyclable.
The latest Route 66 Village project February 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Preservation, Railroad.1 comment so far
The Route 66 Village in southwest Tulsa contains an old steam locomotive, several rail cars, and a gigantic replica of an oil derrick.
Here’s the latest project that volunteers are working on, via KOTV:
A day at the Santa Monica Pier February 12, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions.add a comment
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.
“Catoosa Blue: A Love Story” February 8, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Movies.1 comment so far
This is a short documentary film about the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., created by high-schooler Alexander Knight.
The film premiered during the deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City last summer.
Knight donated the film to the Catoosa Arts & Tourism Society/Fins of the Blue Whale volunteer group, which is working to preserve the Route 66 landmark.