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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Six: Automotive expression – turning rusting metal into visual ideas > 1933 Packard, Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007
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22-FEB-2007

1933 Packard, Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007

Albert Johnson, a Chicago insurance millionaire, built Scotty's Castle in 1927 – a mansion on an oasis in one of the most isolated places in the United States. The castle was named for Johnson's friend, the colorful prospector, Walter Scott. Scott told visitors that he built this castle with booty from a secret gold mine in Death Valley, and so it became known as "Scotty's Castle," even though Albert Johnson's millions paid for it. Johnson also paid handsomely for this Packard. It was a present for his niece. I made this image through a small crack in the back window of the castle garage where it is presently parked. The elegant hood ornament, rich colors, and the ghostly reflection in the window complement the headlight that seems to glow mysteriously, bringing the old car to life once again. Unlike the other cars in this gallery, this Packard has a provenance, and its colorful history gives it a value that no anonymous automobile could ever achieve.

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Phil Douglis03-Mar-2007 20:10
Glad you make the connection between this pampered Packard and the vandalized car at Auguereberry Camp
(http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/75089916 ) Johnson and Auguereberry (if this is his car) are both Death Valley legends, but one lived in grand style and the other lived as virtual hermit. Their diametrically opposed life styles certainly influenced the history of their possessions.
Tim May03-Mar-2007 18:30
I know how long you worked this subject and am taken by the color. You have made this car glow in its past. It, unlike the others, has been pampered and respected, it is after all in a museum. I find this interesting to compare to the abandoned car in auguereberry image. Partly because I know some of the history of both places. The man who is represented as the owner of the abandoned car was also probable wealthy, although not as wealthy as Albert Johnson - yet his car is abandoned and he lived a very unpampered life as a gold miner - whereas Johnson's life at Scotty's Castle was definitely pampered. It seems that it is more than money that defines how we, and our cars, live.
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