Iconic Route 66 monument where Rihanna scrawled message for Trump celebrates 50 years… with a dark secret

One of the country’s most famous roadside attractions lies just off the iconic Route 66 in Texas – but many visitors may not realize that it holds a dark secret.  

Known as Cadillac Ranch, around two million tourists flock to this incredible art installation every year. It features ten upside down Cadillacs that are half-buried in the ground and spray-painted with messages in vibrant colors. 

Perhaps its most famous visitor over the past five decades was Rihanna, who sparked outrage by leaving a disparaging message about Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election. 

Even more controversially, the Texas millionaire who funded the art project was later accused of abusing teenage boys. Adding to its dark history, one of the artists who designed the installation also met a grisly end.  

Perhaps Cadillac Ranch’s most famous visitor over the past five decades was Rihanna (pictured), who sparked outrage by leaving a disparaging message about Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election

The ranch was created by artists Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were collectively known as Ant Farm, in 1974. 

Their project was funded by Texas millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 who gave them $300 per car. 

The group then went off for six weeks in search of models made between 1948 and 1961, Texas Monthly reported. 

Ant Farm’s Marsh-funded project was supposed to show the evolution of the cars’ tail fin, with the 1959 model being the highest, symbolizing the peak of the nation’s post-war ego. 

The group dug out 10 holes on Marsh’s property and tipped the cars in nose-first at a 60-degree angle to mimic the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. 

The project later moved to a secondary location as the town’s borders expanded, and it now sits just two miles west in a cow pasture along Interstate 40.

It was the beginning of what would become a huge highway attraction in the Lone Star State that even drew the likes of pop superstar Rihanna in 2020. 

Ahead of the presidential election, the musician visited the monument where she brazenly spray-painted ‘F**k Trump’ in black paint on the roof of one of the cars. 

When posting the picture on Instagram she captioned it: ‘Art.’ 

Meanwhile, in 2012, two years before Marsh’s death, eight teenage boys sued the rancher-turned-banker, alleging that he plied them with alcohol and gave them cash and cars in return for sexual favors when they were aged between 15 and 17. 

Marsh died in March 2014 from pneumonia, with 11 civil cases against him still ongoing.

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Rihanna (pictured) visited the monument where she spray-painted: ‘F**k Trump’ in black paint on the roof of one of the cars

Their project was funded by Stanley Marsh 3 (pictured) – a Texas millionaire accused of sexually abusing teenage boys 

The ranch was created by Chip Lord (left), Hudson Marquez (right), and Doug Michels, who were collectively known as Ant Farm, in 1974 

The installation marked its 50th Anniversary on June 21 of this year, with Lord and his crew painting the cars gray in celebration.

This was Michels’ favorite color and was a tribute to him in the wake of his death during a solo climb in Australia in June, 2003. 

He had been climbing to a whale observation spot in Eden when he fell aged 59, according to The Washington Post. His sister Annie Clark identified him to officials by the blue star tattoo on his foot, Texas Monthly reported.  

‘I like the idea that it’s eventually just going to disintegrate and be gone,’ Lord told Texas Monthly. ‘It might take another 50 years.’

The new coat commemorating the anniversary didn’t even last 50 minutes. 

Before Lord could even get a photo with the freshly painted cars – which was designed to give the installation new life – fans and tourists were already graffitiing them again. 

The installation has been an inspiration across pop culture, including Disney’s Pixar.

The studio had a ‘Cadillac Range’ animated in the 2006 ‘Cars’ movie that was meant to imitate the real thing.

The installation has been an inspiration to many, including Disney’s Pixar, which had a ‘Cadillac Range’ animated in the 2006 Cars movie that was meant to imitate the real thing

In 2012, two years before Marsh’s death, eight different teenage boys sued the rancher-turned-banker, alleging that he plied them with alcohol and gave them cash and cars for sexual favors 

The project has also been referenced in many songs and books, including Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 album ‘The River’, which had a song named after the installation. 

The art work also made a cameo in several music videos, including James Brown’s ‘Living in America’ and Cage the Elephant’s ‘Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked’. 

The Sex Pistols mentioned Cadillac Ranch in the band’s 1990 memoir, where they recounted passing by the artwork, according to The Avalanche-Journal. 

In an interview with Open Space by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lord described the installation as ‘our first big hit.’ 

He recalled that he and his co-artists were all ‘car nuts’ and loved ‘The Book of Cars’, where they saw an illustration showing the ‘rise and fall of the fin,’ he told Open Space. 

In an interview with Open Space by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art , Lord recalled that the installation was ‘our first big hit’ 

For the 50th Anniversary, which took place on June 21, Lord and his crew painted the cars gray – Michels’ favorite color. But before the artist could even get a photo with the freshly painted cars, fans and tourists were already graffitiing them again

‘Curtis [Schreier] made it into rubber stamps, and Hudson [Marquez] made sketches that became our stationary,’ he said. ‘We understood the ridiculous decorative elements of the fins and their cultural baggage.’