Colorado Redneck Stonehenge at Copperhead Road Honkey Tonk and Saloon
Hey art lovers, you are going to love this one.
Colorado Springs city officials say three junk cars, erected to create a gateway arch at the Copperhead Road Honkey Tonk and Saloon, are just that . . . junk and must come down.
The saloon owner argues the cars are redneck sculpture and should be left alone. In fact, Copperhead wants to expand its display with an assortment of “art” sure to infuriate neighbors near its two-acre property at Academy Boulevard and Rebecca Lane.
Copperhead Road owner Marie Richard argues these trucks evoke a Texas ranch and pay homage to hard-working ranch families.
To read the saloon’s application for a variance to land-use rules, you might believe Copperhead is an art museum, not a saloon featuring barely dressed waitresses and a dancehall.
Those junk cars, the saloon owner says, are pure Americana — sculpture that “pays tribute to the blue collar working American.”
(Dang, I’m getting all misty eyed. How can neighbors be so unpatriotic?)
Anyway, Copperhead wants to keep its “Colorado Redneck Stonehenge,” comparing it to the famous “Cadillac Ranch” in Texas. (I’m guessing police like the arch, too. It’s a good landmark for officers racing to break up the latest brawl.)
Copperhead also wants to keep its neon palm trees. (Because nothing says Texas like neon palm trees.) And it wants to keep its vintage truck which “depicts the life on a Texas ranch.” (Where six lanes of traffic roar past in the heart of a community of more than 622,000.)
Does anything say "Texas" like neon palm trees?
Copperhead hopes to add a towering fiberglass sculpture most will recognize as the “Muffler Man” wearing a cowboy hat, plus a rooster.
See more photos on my blog.
A “mega truck display” with three 1940s flatbed trucks standing on end atop huge poles would “represent the hard working farm and ranch families.” (I’m guessing after they wrecked their trucks up against the silo.)
Owner Marie Richard declined to talk to me about the application, which is under review by city planners.
But in her application, she defended the displays as creating “a popular destination for tourists and locals.” She noted she has spent $1.7 million renovating the property since buying it for $475,000 in 2009.
She compared her junk cars to a statue of champion cowboy Casey Tibbs on a bucking bronc outside the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, among other displays.
City planner Steve Tuck said the city opposes the plan for 10 junk vehicles.
“The vehicles are considered junk,” Tuck said. “Under our definitions, what they are proposing qualifies as operating a junk yard.”
Tuck said he recommends the Planning Commission allow the palm trees.
He’s unsure about the rooster. And the Muffler Man, er Cowboy, may exceed height rules.
“It’s been a lively conversation point in the neighborhood,” Tuck said. “Folks are concerned about the appearance of the cars and what it does to the neighborhood.”
Come on, Steve. Don’t try to understand ‘em. Just rope, throw, and brand ‘em.
I can’t wait for the hearing, likely in January.
Yee haw!
Three huge poles await flatbed trucks to be erected vertically as a way to pay tribute to Texas farm families, according to Copperhead Road's application for a city variance.
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I like it, reminds me of the display outside Amarillo on I-40!
“Owner Marie Richard declined to talk to me about the application, which is under review by city planners.”
Maybe she picked up on your sneering disdain and figured you wouldn’t give her a fair hearing.
Maybe she realized how utterly indefensible her application is and didn’t want to bother trying. Maybe she knows its an assinine notion that a saloon where waitresses in pasties and g-strings serve drinks is somehow an art gallery paying tribute to ranchers and Western heritage.
It’s a saloon, not an art gallery, museum or tourist attraction. Actually, it’s a glorified strip club. (Check out the videos on their website where they proudly show the waitresses in all their gyrating glory.) And that’s fine. I could care less. But they shouldn’t try to wrap themselves in Western heritage to justify their rusted cars and strippers.
Hello, Bill. I truly enjoy your articles very much, but this one left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that the whole “Western heritage” argument seems a bit silly, but you come off as being personally annoyed by the whole idea of them existing as they wish, where they wish. This isn’t the Colorado Springs of 5 or 10 years ago, and more places like this are going to pop up in areas that may upset you. It doesn’t seem as though you’re as upset about the bar (I’ve never been there) as you are about the location it’s in. If that’s the issue, I have a thing or two to say about my area of town as well. I wouldn’t care if cars were stacked 20 high on my street corner, if the crime rate went down. That, to me, is way more important than something that I might think is an eyesore. Really, who cares?
Hi Chris.
Thanks for your note.
Actually, I don’t care if they are a bar or a strip club or whatever. And Academy Boulevard is as good a place as any for a bar.
I was mocking their attempt to masquerade as an art museum and Western Heritage Center.
My column is an attempt to give voice to neighbors. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the neon palm trees and cars stacked 20-30 feet high. And you bring up a good point about crime. Copperhead Road ranks pretty high on the police department’s calls-for-service list. They have a big problem with brawls and neighbors are complaining of other crimes in the area related to the bar.
So sorry you had a bad taste. But I am not annoyed they exist. I couldn’t care less. But neighbors are upset and I try to speak for them. Thanks again for writing and for reading Side Streets.
There may be a lot of rednecks in Texas, but Stanley Marsh 3 isn’t one of them. Those junk cars are invocative of a Texas trailer park, which is probably closer to the image Copperhead conveys than that of a Texas Ranch.