| |
Built:
1970- 1972
Designed by: Hugh Davis and Harold Thomas
Renovated: 1997 by volunteers and the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce
Type: Monument
Maximum length: 80 feet / 24 meters
Location: U.S. 66
City: Catoosa
State: Oklahoma
|
I
f you wander the slower-paced, lesser-traveled roads of America it will only take a couple of hours to stumble upon a piece of folk art. This is a prime example of how these things get started – one person, toiling on a personal project gets noticed by people driving by and the next thing he knows, he's famous. The artist in this case is Hugh Davis and his friend Harold Thomas. Davis built the whale as an anniversary gift for his wife. Made from wood, pipe, and concrete, the happy whale appears to have beached itself on the Davis' private pond. It didn't stay private for long. People trying to escape Oklahoma's summer heat stumbled upon this unique watering hole, drawn in by the massive sculpture. At one time there were so many people diving off the whale's tale that Davis set up a snack bar, brought in sand for a beach and started charging admission. Davis died in 1990, shortly after he closed the pond to the public because it became too much to handle. Still, the Blue Whale has become a local landmark and a national treasure.
>15 July, 2002 - The syndicated cartoon "Zippy the Pinhead" features the Blue Whale.
>15 August, 2002 -Volunteers sponsored by Hampton Inn's "Save-A-Landmark" program spruce up the Blue Whale.
|
|