Ghost Parking Lot Will Rest In Peace

The Ghost Parking Lot, a public art installation in Hamden, CT of a line of 15 cars buried under asphalt--featured in over 100 art books, will soon be removed from the plaza where it has resided since 1978. "Today the piece is in such disrepair that it would take an estimated $120,000 to restore it and $10,000 annually to maintain it. The once eerie, pitch-black asphalt blanketing the cars has yielded numerous weed-sprouting cracks. Weather, skateboarders and vandalism have been blamed....Though it's often included in lists of goofy tourist attractions, many say its significance goes well beyond roadside novelty. It's often cited as one of the first 'site-specific' examples of art - work that derives meaning from its surroundings."