Back Home Again in Indiana: Grant County and James Dean

After Indianapolis, the next stop on my Indiana itinerary was Fairmount, located in Grant County. Other than the cars and the stoplights, downtown Fairmount looks as if it's stuck in a time warp. You could easily feel as if you were on Main Street of any small city back in the day.

A vintage wall ad for Gold Medal Flour:



The former Carter's Motors Indian Motorcycle shop where James Dean got his first motorcycle at the age of 15.





Here Dean is shown at his Uncle Marcus' farm in the neighboring town of Jonesboro. He had returned one last time to Indiana, just before he exploded on the silver screen in his debut starring role in "East of Eden."



The photo caption for the next photo says:

Jimmy returns briefly to visit his family in Fairmount again. He particularly enjoys playing with his little cousin "Markie."



The farm can be seen in the odd documentary, "The James Dean Story," which was created by Robert Altman after Dean's tragic death. The farm still looks very much like it did back in 1955, and his little cousin "Markie" (now Mark/Marcus!) lives there with his family:



The brown grass shows the drought that the area has been suffering:



Down the street is the Quaker church where Dean and his family worshipped:



and where he is buried:





Back in the middle of the town is a recently dedicated little park with a replica of the Kenneth Kendall bust that can also be found at Griffith Park in Hollywood:





This cool piece of outdoor wall art was made out of denim jeans:



In the Fairmount Historical Museum, you can find a number of Dean items:



like this shirt that you can see him wearing in the Sanford Roth photo on the left-hand side of this shot:



The museum also has one of my paintings, based on a scene from "Rebel Without a Cause."



One of my very favorite moments in Fairmount was to hear actor Frank Mazzola (who played a gang member, Crunch, in the movie) discuss Dean's inspiration for this scene where he yelled, "I've got the bullets!" Here's Mazzola at the 1996 dedication of the James Dean bust, with artist/sculptor Kenneth Kendall seated at left:



See more vintage and current Grant County and James Dean photos on my James Dean web page.

Traveling Thursdays: Fairmount & James Dean

In belated honor of what would have been James Dean's 81st birthday on February 8th, today's TT post shows photos of the town that James Dean grew up in. Dean was living in Santa Monica when his mother died of cancer; unable to support and care for his son, Dean's father sent him back to Fairmount, Indiana, to be raised by his grandparents. Here is the Winslow Farm, where Dean grew up with his grandparents and cousins:



Marcus Winslow Jr., James Dean's cousin, still lives here:



This painting I did many years ago shows Marcus as a boy with Dean, during his last visit to Fairmount before his tragic death in 1955:



And one of me at Marcus' home, holding up the painting I did before he hung it on the wall.



Fairmount still resembles a quaint Main Street, and many of the places that Dean spent his formative years in are still standing. The first time I visited Fairmount was in September 1993, during the annual "James Dean Days" Festival. Even the rain couldn't keep the thousands of people away from the car show and James Dean Look-A-Like Contest.



The High School has been closed for many years, and is in a sad state of disrepair.









Here is the stage that Dean first performed on:



When Dean returned to Fairmount in 1955, he brought photographer Dennis Stock with him. The two attended the "Sweetheart's Dance" that was held here. Of course, it looked a lot better in 1955.



Tributes abound here, including this bust sculpted by Kenneth Kendall (which can also be seen at Griffith Observatory in Hollywood):



Need I mention that the cigarette was not original to the statue?



At one time, there were two museums with exhibits celebrating Dean's life and legacy; one was the James Dean Gallery, run by David Loehr:



Dean's High School Drama Coach, Adeline Nall, held court here:



The other museum is the Fairmount Historical Museum:



Can you guess which one of these won the look-a-like contest in 1993?



At the car show, you can typically see this replica of the Porsche Dean died in:



Often you'll find some interesting people at the festival, including actor Casper van Dien (who had recently filmed a quickie Dean biopic) and custom car designer George Barris (known best for the Batmobile), posing with Sally the Mail Lady:





Dean is buried here; I believe this is about the third tombstone. As you can see, zealous fans not only leave tributes, but have chipped away souvenirs for themselves from the granite marker:



One of the few buildings not around anymore is Dean's birthplace in nearby Marion, Indiana. This marker designates the spot where it used to be:



See more vintage & current Fairmount, Indiana photos on my Fairmount web page.