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All the United Kingdom England Oxford The Headington Shark

The Headington Shark

A 26-foot shark sculpture—a statement about bombs—set off a municipal battle royale.

Oxford, England

Added By
Michelle Enemark
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  manicstreetpreacher/Flickr
  manicstreetpreacher/Flickr
Headington Shark   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
  davemorris/Flickr
  davemorris/Flickr
  BinarySneaker / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Headington Shark   Xavier Waterstone
The information station on the corner   kollek 60490054 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

About four months after the incident at Chernobyl, and not long after American bombs landed in Libya, in 1986, Oxford resident Bill Heine had a 26-foot shark sculpture erected on his roof. Using cranes, Heine and sculptor John Buckley mounted the shark head first onto the roof in the middle of the night. That morning (the 41st anniversary of the dropping of nuclear bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki), the headless shark began delighting curious onlookers—but not town officials.

Heine said that the shark was assembled and properly placed to speak out against nuclear weapons, Chernobyl, and more. Whether art, protest, or, per rumors, a crafty disguise for an antenna, the City Council tried to get Heine to remove the shark on the grounds that it was unsafe. After a thorough inspection, however, it was found that the shark was indeed properly installed and safe. The dispute continued and was appealed by Heine in a letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment; again, it was found that the shark was causing no harm, and one inspector termed it "unique and brilliant," according to The New Yorker. Since then, the bizarre shark-sculpture-anti-nuclear-armament-protest has remained in its head first dive into the home, which is now available to rent via Airbnb.

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Outsider Architecture Sharks

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The house is now open to stay in via Airbnb.

Community Contributors

Added By

michelle

Edited By

qrys, mbison, Jaszmina Szendrey, Waterstone...

  • qrys
  • mbison
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • Waterstone
  • rbenn250
  • BinarySneaker
  • kollek 60490054

Published

January 22, 2010

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Sources
  • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Heine
  • https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/31345904
The Headington Shark
2 New High Street
Oxford, England, OX3 9AA
United Kingdom
51.759619, -1.213281
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