Lubbock, Texas -
12 Ton Boulder Carved into John Wayne's Head
A boulder that nearly caused carnage on a California freeway has been transformed into a long-lasting indoor tribute to The Duke.
- Address:
- Dover Ave., Lubbock, TX
- Directions:
- In the Moody Library/Mabee Learning Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University, which is on the west edge of the city. Take I-27 to the Hwy 289 loop and drive west. Exit at 19th St. and drive east. The campus will quickly be on the right. Turn right onto Dover Ave. The library will be the third building on the right. Park in the lot and walk around to the entrance, which is on the opposite side.
- Hours:
- Open daily, hours vary with school year (Call to verify)
- Phone:
- 806-720-7326
Visitor Tips and News About 12 Ton Boulder Carved into John Wayne's Head
12 Ton Boulder Carved into John Wayne's Head reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.
In early 1979, a 116-ton boulder was about to fall off of a cliff onto the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. Engineers got to work, closed the highway, yanked the rock down, then blew it up with dynamite. Being southern California, a screenplay was written about the rock, titled "The Rock," but it was never produced.
Local sculptor Brett-Livingstone Strong saw opportunity in the rock. He paid $100 for a 12.5-ton chunk of it, then trucked it 30 miles east to a shopping center parking lot in Century City. He announced that he would carve it into a head of then-California governor Jerry Brown. But he changed his mind, and as curious spectators watched, he instead carved it into a very good likeness of John Wayne.
The head was sold to an Arizona real estate tycoon, reportedly for a million dollars. It disappeared for a time, but it was eventually donated to Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas, where it now stands in the library.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 01/01/2010]Nearby Offbeat Places
- Chunk of the Blarney Stone, Lubbock, TX - 3 mi.
- Bronze Statue of Big Mammoth Mom and Baby, Lubbock, TX - 4 mi.
- Statue of Willie McCool, Space Shuttle Pilot, Lubbock, TX - 4 mi.
- Buddy Holly Museum and Giant Glasses Photo Op, Lubbock, TX - 5 mi.
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