(KRON) — A Northern California landmark that has stood in a Weed, Calif. parking lot since 1962 was toppled in a crash Tuesday.
The 32-foot-tall totem pole, carved by Bay Area artist Barney West, was tipped over and noticeably damaged by a big rig navigating the Ray’s Food Place parking lot on Weed Boulevard at about 11:15 p.m., the Weed Police Department said.
Siskiyou News reports that the landmark was commissioned in 1962 to attract customers to a new Safeway at the Highway 97 and Old Highway 99 junction. The pole reportedly replaced an authentic totem pole purchased by local businessman Carl R. Phelps in the early 1920s. The original pole stood from 1922 to the 1960s in roughly the same location as its replacement…