A heavy concrete block appeared on the front lawn of The Paseo Grill in Oklahoma City on Friday. Restaurant owners aren’t quite sure what to make of the monument or its reference to H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional deity, Azathoth.
An Oklahoma City restaurant has a concrete problem in its hands.
Staff at Paseo Grill, located in Oklahoma’s historic Paseo Arts District, are still making sense of a mysterious concrete block that materialized on their front lawn last Friday.
The three-foot-high monument to the fictional deity Azathoth is rough to the touch. It appears as if it has been chipped loose from a base.
“This is not something you just drive by and throw out the window,” restaurant owner Lesley Rawlinson told The New York Daily News. “Someone had to come and set it down here.”
The Paseo Arts Association designated several poles in the Oklahoma City district where artwork can be placed. But the block was dropped off around 20 feet away.
KFOR
The Paseo Arts Association designated several poles in the Oklahoma City district where artwork can be placed. But the block was dropped off around 20 feet away.
But no one knows who did it. Local police told Rawlinson that the block doesn’t appear to have been stolen, so removing it is the restaurant’s responsibility.
After news about the monument spread on KFOR, Rawlinson said she’s been getting calls from people who were excited about the find and from people who warned her about its dangers.
A bronze plaque attached to one side of the monument bears these puzzling words, “In the Year of Our Lord 2012 Creer Pipi claimed this land for Azathoth.”
Azathoth is a fictional being mentioned in science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft’s stories. The primordial power is sometimes seen as the god of chaos.
Around 20 people have called the restaurant with offers to buy the monument.
Around 20 people have called the restaurant with offers to buy the monument.
“There are about 20 people who called me and said they want to buy it,” Rawlinson said. “But there are some who say it’s a bad demon and that we shouldn’t even touch it.”
The block is not exactly a strange sight in this Oklahoma City neighborhood. The Paseo Arts District is home to 17 galleries and more than 60 artists. Paseo Grill is part of the Paseo Arts Association, a non-profit that has built metal poles along the street for the easy installation of statues.
But this monument wasn’t approved by the arts association. It has actually been placed about 20 feet away from the poles.
The restaurant's property manager will have the final word about what happens to the monument.
Rawlinson said she wouldn't mind keeping it in front of her business, just for a short while. At first, she didn’t think the concrete block could be considered art. But after watching many people stop outside her store to stare, she said she might have to reevaluate.
“Art is subjective, it’s in the eye of the beholder,” she said. “So on a personal level, this is not something I would say is art, but a lot of people definitely think it’s unique and different.”
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