Once a month, Arizona Oddities is now featuring a Q&A with a talented Arizona artist who is influenced by our state’s people, places and history. This month, Megan Dean shares her diverse array of work, latest inspirations and a soft spot for two Old West icons.
PRESCOTT VALLEY — If you’re not a stickler for the real thing, and if your budget doesn’t allow an extended trip to see the real thing, there’s a miniature facsimile of Mount Rushmore waiting to be viewed at the Freedom Station here. It’s not nearly as big as the real thing in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but there’s no admission fee and, for the same price, visitors also get to look at replicas of King Kong climbing the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge, all in less-than-actual sizes.
QUARTZSITE — Gene Hassler doesn’t let things go to waste, especially if they’re things he can use to create a whale or a velocipede. Hassler is a welder and artist who spends some of his time in Quartzsite because he owns Hassler’s RV Park here. The property is adorned with about 50 of his creations, all made of scrap materials.
His rendition of an ostrich has car headlights for eyes and pipe wrenches for legs. Nearby, a huge hand made of bolts reaches out of the ground to grab a vine crafted from reinforcing rods. Elsewhere are palm trees, velocipedes, cowboys with six-shooters, elephant feet and cactus, all rusted because they’re all made of previously used metal.
FLORENCE — All four faces of the clock on the old Pinal County Courthouse say 11:44 regardless of what time of day it is. This is a good thing because most people look at the clock during the daylight hours, so no matter what time it is, the clock says it’s almost time for lunch.
The clock has been stuck at 11:44 ever since the building opened in 1891, and it will always be 11:44 because the hands never move. This is because they’re painted on. It was originally an economic move, but now it’s tradition. There has never been a real clock in the tower. The architect wanted one, and that’s why the tower was erected.
The white statue that has been a permanent fixture atop the State Capitol dome in Phoenix for more than a century goes by several names.
She is called the Goddess of Victory, Statue of Justice and Winged Victory, but for a time the nickname Bullseye could have also been applied. The zinc goddess was cast in Ohio and purchased by the Territory of Arizona in 1898 for $150. When the Capitol building was formally opened in 1901, the 17-foot sculpture was placed on top of the copper dome to serve not only as a symbol, but also as a weather vane. But it frequently didn’t get the respect it deserved
