Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Can’t forget the firetruck.
Cliff’s Museum of Car Memorabilia
Bell Mountain
The Augustus Temple.
Temple of Augustus
Gunung Kemekus Entrance
Gunung Kemukus
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Coalinga Iron Zoo
Iron Zoo is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Iron Zoo

A dwindling menagerie of anthropomorphic oil derrick animals still dot the barren California landscape.

Coalinga, California

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Iron Zoo   Arlette on Flickr
Iron Zoo   Arlette on Flickr
Iron Zoo   Arlette on Flickr
Iron Zoo   Arlette on Flickr
  James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
  James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Once numbering in the dozens, the painted pumping units collectively known as the Iron Zoo have slowly been disappearing with the downturn of the California oil industry, but a few remain to remind passersby of a more whimsical and prosperous time. 

The brainchild of Jean Dakessian Jones, a motor lodge operator in the nearby town of Coalinga, the painted giants were originally meant to attract people to her motel. The project began in 1971 when the road to Coalinga was dotted with a steady trail of pumping units bobbing their "heads" up and down, dragging sweet Texas Tea from the California grounds. With the permission of the local Shell Oil manager, Jones painted one of the pumps and the manager liked it so much that they got the go ahead to paint a bunch more of them, in fact the company even began providing the paint! Jones painted 23 more pumps by herself before outsourcing the design ideas and labor to the area locals who would come out and paint the pumps as a community. Designs ranged from animals like goats and butterflies to more whimsical figures such as a sailor and a cowboy, and while it began with just paint jobs, new flourishes began to be made adding horns, hats, and even wings to the pumps.

For a time the fields leading to Coalinga were fairly densely populated by the creatures but as the oil industry began to be outsourced more and more to foreign interests, the number of pumping units began to dwindle. The once ubiquitous machines began being dismantled and put into storage, no matter their paint job.

Today only a few of the creatures of the Iron Zoo remain, but their giant forms still hold some of that plucky spirit that helped turn the otherwise lifeless machines into something a bit more.   

Related Tags

Outsider Art Industrial Animals

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

James Ricci

  • James Ricci

Published

December 15, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/8365
  • http://www.offbeattravel.com/coalinga.html
Iron Zoo
33241 Fresno Coalinga Rd
Coalinga, California, 93210
United States
36.239011, -120.314605
Get Directions

Nearby Places

New Idria Ghost Town

Paicines, California

miles away

James Dean Memorial Junction

Shandon, California

miles away

The Meux Home Museum

Fresno, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 135

Nearby Places

New Idria Ghost Town

Paicines, California

miles away

James Dean Memorial Junction

Shandon, California

miles away

The Meux Home Museum

Fresno, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 135

Related Places

  • Staré Město, Czechia

    Kovozoo (Metal Zoo)

    Hundreds of "animals" created from scrap metal, alongside a collection of other oddities.

  • The Zoo,Groovy Yard Art

    Mineral Bluff, Georgia

    The Zoo, Groovy Yard Art

    The only zoo where you can buy animals that won't need feeding.

  • ‘Saved by a Whale’s Tail’

    Spijkenisse, Netherlands

    'Saved by a Whale’s Tail'

    This unique sculpture proved invaluable when it saved a train from careening off the tracks.

  • Love From Afar.

    San Juan Capistrano, California

    Arroyo Bird Park

    This park is home to well over 100 handmade birdhouses.

  • “Terris Novalis.”

    Consett, England

    'Terris Novalis'

    These giant sculptures are supported by a bizarre menagerie of feet.

  • Quartzsite’s camel sculpture.

    Quartzsite, Arizona

    The Red Ghost of Quartzsite

    A scrap-metal sculpture recalls an infamous 19th-century camel.

  • The many heads of social justice.

    Alexandria, Egypt

    Tamr Hena Museum

    Part shoe store, part sociopolitical art gallery, part zoo.

  • Kingsland Wildflowers.

    Brooklyn, New York

    Kingsland Wildflowers

    Thriving meadows span a rooftop in one of Brooklyn's most heavily industrialized neighborhoods.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.