13.4.12

End of the Petroleum Age Pt. IV

In oblique honor of this week's Sepia Saturday theme of Bibles...

I recently spent a night in Long Beach, Washington ("World's Longest Beach," a dubious distinction). On the way out of town I happened to cast my eyes to the left as we passed a defunct Union 76 fueling station and I saw to my astonishment these frescoed gas tanks. I reckon you might call these "Gas Stations of the Cross."



Here they are in detail. The juxtaposition of abandoned petroleum infrastructure and Christian symbology blows my mind.
Annunciation

Baptism

Crucifixion

Ascendancy

12 comments:

  1. I think these must have been very beautiful when they were first painted. Even now they are showing their beauty with their age. You are so lucky to have come across these and you have such a great eye for taking pictures.

    Happy Theme Thursday. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    God bless.

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  2. Gas stations of the cross. Love it! Just amazing.

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  3. Very interesting. I'm not a religious person, but I quite like the idea of this kind of graffiti.

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  4. OMG. Amazing, really...they're either a message of true faith OR a warning to us all. I'm guessing the latter.

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  5. I would never have expected to see these on fuel tanks - old or not.

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  6. Now I'm wondering what Deb thinks they are warning us about. Is it the paintings themselves or that they are on the abandoned gas tanks?

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    1. I'm thinking along the lines of: try to mix capitalism and religion...see what happens! There's lots to explore in this, but probably best to leave it for another day....

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  7. Absolutely amazing. I'd like to know more about who painted them and why. A rather odd place, geographicallly, to find them, and odd in context as well, but then we find some lovely art work done as graffiti.

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  8. What an amazing find. I wonder how long ago they were painted. I hope someone thinks to restore and maintain them.

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  9. Those are cool! Red, white and blue patriotic (?) stripes too.

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