[Source: Jack Gillum, Daily Star] -- There may be time to save paradise before they put up a parking lot. A state representative is in talks with the new owners of Magic Carpet Golf on East Speedway to designate the mini-golf course's larger-than-life statues in the Arizona Centennial Project, a state historic preservation effort. "It's just so eccentric and unique," said State Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson. He added that the oddball structures at the park may find a new home at Tucson's Valley of the Moon. "It's really important to save the soul of a place," Farley said. Magic Carpet, at 6125 E. Speedway, is known for its skyline of towering monkey and T-Rex figures that complement a decrepit miniature-golf course. But the park's former owner, Carol Koplin, sold the property Jan. 4 to the Chapman Automotive Group for $1.8 million because her uncle, who ran the park, died before Christmas. Chapman may use the property as an overflow lot for its nearby Mercedes dealership.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Efforts under way to save Tucson's Magic Carpet menagerie
[Source: Jack Gillum, Daily Star] -- There may be time to save paradise before they put up a parking lot. A state representative is in talks with the new owners of Magic Carpet Golf on East Speedway to designate the mini-golf course's larger-than-life statues in the Arizona Centennial Project, a state historic preservation effort. "It's just so eccentric and unique," said State Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson. He added that the oddball structures at the park may find a new home at Tucson's Valley of the Moon. "It's really important to save the soul of a place," Farley said. Magic Carpet, at 6125 E. Speedway, is known for its skyline of towering monkey and T-Rex figures that complement a decrepit miniature-golf course. But the park's former owner, Carol Koplin, sold the property Jan. 4 to the Chapman Automotive Group for $1.8 million because her uncle, who ran the park, died before Christmas. Chapman may use the property as an overflow lot for its nearby Mercedes dealership.
