A visitor to Randyland doesn’t need to have a passport or make complex travel plans. The only thing necessary for anyone to go see this land of recycling ingenuity is a desire to enjoy the creative work of Randy Gilson. Located in Pittsburgh, Randyland is a set of buildings colored and decorated from discarded items. It captures the imagination and treats the eyes.
“I found paints by the gallons. All the blues, the fuchsias, the purples, the pinks, the yellows and the reds were paints that people didn't want. They were afraid to finish them after they’d paid money for them. Every time a building was being torn down I was there. I was there the minute I saw the bulldozer pull up. I drove up every day seeing if there was something I could use or if there was something I could get and recycle to put into my own house” said Gilson.
After purchasing a dilapidated structure in 1982 for $10,000 on a credit card, he went to work trying to make the building into his vision of home. Recycling was his goal.
“I went ahead and had scaffolding put up because my wall was starting to fall down. I asked the guys to leave the scaffolding up so I could paint a mural and they said nope for insurance reasons.”
On a Friday workers repairing the wall said they were going on vacation for a week. They were going to leave the scaffolding up and if Randy happened to sneak up it, he was on his own. A boy in his neighborhood helped Randy’s mural idea by cutting out stars and the moon on contact paper. Randy put them on the wall then ran a black roller over the images. When he pealed back the contact paper he’d created a picture of the heavens.
“I thought I need to make it look more like a solar system. I took a bunch of old blue and purple paint on a rag and I just tapped it all over and it looked great.”
After purchasing one building he purchased others and decorated them as well.
Randy Gilson’s buildings became Randyland when they were mentioned in an article featured in a local publication. Other articles in local media followed. Eventually Randyland was featured on a segment of the national television show Today, after correspondent Amy Robach’s mother met Randy Gilson at his job as a waiter.
“I started keeping pictures of my house in my pocket and would sneak them out when the boss wasn't looking. Before you know it all these people would come by and see my house. Randyland became famous.”
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