Route 66 in the News
Man Building Cadillac Ranch out of RV’s
2008-01-05 10:00:54
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - Frank Bates is an old-school salesman, a little extravagant, a little unorthodox. He's dedicated his life to his RVs. "It's a great thing!" Frank said, "We're selling something that's fun."
So it didn't surprise people much when he pursued his latest outlandish venture. That was, until it started going up. At the property adjacent to his lot off I-4, he proudly exclaims, "This is going to be the Airstream Ranch."
If the odd sight of eight Airstream RVs sticking straight up out of the ground is a little jarring, but recognizable, it should. It's fashioned after Cadillac Ranch off Route 66 in Texas.
"It was a piece of art that's always been recognized and is world famous," he said. He wants to create the same effect right off the Interstate 4 corridor. Frank says Airstreams are the Cadillac's of RVs, so it was only fitting. An exhibit—art, he says—forever emblazoning a part of Americana.
"I think it's spectacular," said Bill Bowman. He's stopped by with his wife Sylvia to look at the strange sight. They drove all the way from St. Pete Beach to see it. They travel the country seeing America's oddities.
"This takes you back. It's really history," Sylvia said, "This is cool!"
There is some history buried there. A 1957 Airstream a 1963 mini, known as the Bambi model. But the rest are from a scrap yard up in North Florida. Each RV stands for a decade the Airstream's been around. They just celebrated their 75th anniversary. The '63 Bambi stands for the half decade.
"We're excited about doing it and hope it makes people smile," Bates says.
But not everyone is smiling. Bates said he went around to the neighbors and told them he was going to build something like the Cadillac Ranch. They said they had no idea that was what he meant.
"It's just an eyesore," said neighbor Michelle O'Connor. She and her other neighbors just filed a complaint with Hillsborough County Code Enforcement. "It looks like a horse and pony show over there with those nasty Airstreams buried in the ground like that," O'Connor said, "I mean, come on."
She says it's not art—it's an advertisement. Whatever he calls it—she said—it's unsafe to bring more traffic onto the county road where she plays with her kids.
"We're not a tourist attraction like Cadillac Ranch. We don't want to be a tourist attraction. "We want to be a country road where we live peacefully," she said.
Bates dismisses the criticism. "This is art. We don't need permits for art, and it's our property."
He has offered to put up a fence so they won't have to look at it. They're still mulling that over. They county is expected to get back to the neighbors on their complaint in the next few weeks. In the meantime, Airstream Ranch will stand tall and proud.
Luckily for Frank, art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
~MyFoxOrlando.com
See also:
- Photos and information on the original Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo
- Full List of Route 66 In The News Articles
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