Willem Bor of the Netherlands won't be in Lebanon, Mo., until June to dedicate his painstakingly detailed diorama of the old Nelson Tavern in the Lebanon/Laclede County Route 66 Society's museum. However, Bor made a video that shows how the Nelson Tavern diorama was done. Bor's Web site about his upcoming Route 66 trip is … Continue reading Remaking the Nelson Tavern
Category: Art
Joplin will dedicate mural next week
A Route 66-themed mural by the grandson of famous artist Thomas Hart Benton will be dedicated on the first floor of Joplin (Mo.) City Hall, 602 S. Main St., at 5:30 p.m. April 15, according to the Joplin Independent. Anthony Benton Gude, Benton's grandson, has completed the mural. The date of the dedication marks the … Continue reading Joplin will dedicate mural next week
Bob Waldmire’s last mural
A mural that was designed by recently deceased Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire for a gas station in Topock-Golden Shores, Ariz., was finished a few days ago. The mural of old Route 66 is on a replica 1970s Shell gas station on 12888 Oatman Highway (aka Route 66) owned by Ned Leuchtner, who also owns … Continue reading Bob Waldmire’s last mural
The way of Waldmire
A YouTube poster by the name of "dguerraphoto" just uploaded this moving short film about Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire, when he was dying of abdominal cancer in November. I commend it to your attention: I'll post more information about the filmmaker as soon as I get it. UPDATE: I got this message from the … Continue reading The way of Waldmire
“Cars” meets Cadillac Ranch
Be a little patient when you view this Lego stop-motion animation video. You will eventually see toys from the movie "Cars" being used in a re-creation of Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas. So is this were Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the rest of the Radiator Springs gang go after they die?
60-second man
Here's a video of someone repainting one of the cars planted into the ground at Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo, Texas. It serves as a primer (pun intended) for those who want to learn how to repaint their car.
Notes from the road
The "East Meets West" sculpture at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza at Riverside Drive and Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Tulsa is inching closer to being installed. Dennis Whitaker at the city of Tulsa gave me this update, via e-mail: [T]he artist is finished with the car group and the foundry has already cast … Continue reading Notes from the road
One big cartoon
A few days ago, a group of artists from Cartoonists Across America & the World was putting the finishing touches on a Route 66-inspired mural created by cartoonist Phil Yeh. The mural is at D Street and 10th Street in San Bernardino, Calif.
Notes from the road
I've tried to glean a deeper look at the crisis in Needles, Calif., over the possible loss of its only grocery store, Bashas'. The grocer chain filed bankruptcy a few months ago, and it is set to close 10 stores in response, including Needles'. This recent story in the Mohave Daily News provides additional information … Continue reading Notes from the road
Here’s your sign
A few months ago, we tracked down who had painted hundreds, perhaps thousands of distinctive signs along the Route 66 corridor from the western Texas Panhandle to eastern New Mexico. It was Rudolph Gonzales, who has crafted his work along the Mother Road since the mid-1950s and is one of the last to do so … Continue reading Here’s your sign