shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCalifornia · United States

above Valencia, north of Los Angeles

Superman: Escape from Krypton

Name: Superman: Escape from Krypton — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the silence before the cable lets go.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A steel tower at Six Flags Magic Mountain, 415 feet up the back of the San Gabriel range. The car launched horizontally out of a Krypton-themed station, hit 100 miles per hour in about seven seconds, then climbed the tower vertically until gravity took it back. It ran from 1997 to 2011, reversed direction in 2011 for a year, and was dismantled. The Valencia hills are still there. The tower's footprint is still there. The ride is the kind of thing Southern California remembers in summers. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Superman: Escape from Krypton, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Superman: Escape from Krypton

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Superman: Escape from Krypton stood at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, about 35 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The ride opened in 1997 as Superman: The Escape, the work of Swiss manufacturer Intamin, and was the first roller coaster to reach 100 miles per hour. The track climbed a single L-shaped tower 415 feet above the park's western ridge, then dropped the car back the way it came. After a 2011 conversion that reversed the direction of travel, the ride closed for good in 2011 and was dismantled by 2012. The Magic Mountain site sits at the southern edge of the Santa Clarita Valley.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the visit

Six Flags Magic Mountain opens daily in summer and on weekends through the rest of the year, with parking off Interstate 5 at Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia. Superman: Escape from Krypton itself has not operated since 2011, so the experience exists now in photographs, ride-camera footage, and the memory of California families who rode it through its fifteen-summer run. The park still anchors the same hill, with the Santa Susana Mountains visible to the south and the Tehachapi range further north. The closest town centers are Santa Clarita and Newhall, both within ten minutes of the gate.

— informed by Six Flags Magic Mountain, Wikipedia

— where

United States · Valencia, Los Angeles County, California

— within

Six Flags Magic Mountain

— position

34.4239° N · 118.5970° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

8 km S

Santa Clarita

city

22 km E

Vasquez Rocks

natural area

18 km SE

Angeles National Forest

national forest

Superman: Escape from Krypton

Santa Clarita

Vasquez Rocks

Angeles National Forest

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Superman: Escape from Krypton — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

It opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1997 as Superman: The Escape. The ride was rebuilt with a reversed direction of travel and renamed Superman: Escape from Krypton in 2011, its final operating season.

The launch pushed the car from a standstill to about 100 miles per hour in roughly seven seconds. It was the first roller coaster ever to reach the 100 mile-per-hour mark, a record it held briefly before Japan's Dodonpa surpassed it.

The L-shaped tower stood 415 feet above the park, making the ride one of the tallest in the world for most of its life. The vertical climb up the spine of the tower was the visual signature of the experience.

The ride was designed and built by Intamin, the Swiss manufacturer behind many of the world's tallest and fastest coasters. The propulsion system used linear induction motors, a launch technology that Intamin was first to bring to a major theme park.

No. Superman: Escape from Krypton closed at the end of the 2011 season and was dismantled the following year. The footprint at Magic Mountain is now used for other attractions, but the tower itself is gone.

It stood in the Samurai Summit area at the back of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, about 35 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, off Interstate 5 in northern Los Angeles County.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. The tower was visible from the freeway for fifteen years, and a lot of Southern California childhoods include one ride on it. A Small with a handwritten note from the studio reads as the kind of keepsake a Valencia or Santa Clarita household keeps on a shelf.

The piece sits inside California-modern, mid-century-modern, and graphic-print rooms. The colour leans cool steel and twilight, so it carries well against warm woods, brushed metal, and concrete or stone surfaces.

It fits the broader return of mid-century California modernism and the more recent retro-theme-park print movement. Both lean on bold geometry and a single hero motif, which is the shape this tile is built around.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads cleanly. Above a long console or a wider sectional, a four-tile Mural fills the wall better, and a nine-tile Mural is the size to commission when the wall is the room's anchor.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for bath and kitchen installations. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so steam, splash, and ordinary cleaning do not affect it.

A microfibre cloth and water are enough for everyday care. The surface does not need polish or sealant. For tougher marks, a damp cloth with mild dish soap is safe.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, hand-finished in the Knoxville studio. No outside licensing, no third-party prints.

— if this one stayed with you