Cadillac Ranch was created by Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective founded by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez, and Doug Michels. The idea came from a conversation about the evolution of Cadillac tailfins - how they expressed American optimism, excess, and decline. Stanley Marsh 3, an eccentric Amarillo millionaire, agreed to fund and host the installation. In 1974, the collective buried ten Cadillacs - a 1949 Club Coupe through a 1963 Sedan - at precisely 52 degrees, matching the angle of the Great Pyramid's sides. The cars were positioned west of Amarillo on Marsh's property, visible from Interstate 40, the modern incarnation of Route 66.

From the beginning, visitors were encouraged to leave their mark. Stanley Marsh reportedly handed out spray paint. The tradition became self-perpetuating: people saw the painted cars and brought paint to add their own messages. Over decades, the accumulated paint has become inches thick - the original cars are completely obscured. Names, dates, declarations of love, memorial messages, political statements, and random tags cover every surface. The colors change constantly; occasionally someone paints an entire car a single color before the next visitors add their spray. The graffiti makes Cadillac Ranch a participatory artwork - millions of anonymous contributors have shaped what it is.

In 1997, Amarillo's growth approached the original Cadillac Ranch site. Stanley Marsh relocated the installation two miles west, to its current location in a wheat field. The cars were extracted - revealing that years of burial and paint had preserved them surprisingly well - and replanted at the new site. The graffiti tradition continued without pause. The new location is still visible from Interstate 40, still surrounded by open Texas prairie, still accessible to anyone willing to walk across the field. The move proved that Cadillac Ranch is less about specific cars than about the ongoing ritual of painting them.

Cadillac Ranch has become one of America's most recognizable artworks - reproduced endlessly in photographs, featured in songs (Bruce Springsteen's 'Cadillac Ranch' among them), and inspiring countless roadside tributes. The installation raises questions about authorship - who made this? Ant Farm created the concept; Stanley Marsh funded it; millions of visitors created the surface. The spray paint is the art now; the cars are just the canvas. Cadillac Ranch proved that public art could be interactive, evolving, and democratic. Anyone can contribute; no contribution is permanent. The piece belongs to everyone who has ever shaken a spray can there.

Cadillac Ranch is located on the south side of I-40 at exit 60 (Hope Road) west of Amarillo, Texas. The site is free to visit 24/7 and is accessible by walking across the field from a dirt pullout. Bring spray paint - participation is expected. Take photographs before and after adding your contribution. The field can be muddy after rain; wear appropriate shoes. There are no facilities, shade, or water. Summer temperatures exceed 100°F; bring water and sun protection. The site is best visited at sunrise or sunset for photography. Amarillo's Rick Husband International Airport is 15 miles east. Route 66 nostalgia continues throughout Amarillo, including the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Allow 30-60 minutes.