Bathtub Mary
ARCHBALD, Pa. - Judi Chindemi's bathtub is a beacon of faith.
Perched atop a ridge in her backyard, it rises about three feet out of the ground. Painted blue, it practically blends with the sky. Stage lighting gives a dramatic effect at night. Thickets of flowers adorn it in summer.
Lights and flowers aside, it would be just another bathtub if not for the Virgin Mary statue sheltered inside.
The reminder of the Blessed Mother's presence gives Chindemi peace.
"I sit on the porch, and I look over her," she says.
For nearly 20 years, this curious shrine has been the highlight of the garden kept by Chindemi and her husband, Paul. The combinations of cast-iron bathtubs and Blessed Mother statues are affectionately known as "Bathtub Marys."
For generations, these handmade shrines have dotted Northeastern Pennsylvania and other predominantly Catholic regions, with many sprouting up in the 1950s and '60s when families were remodeling and replaced their older claw-footed bathtubs.
In recent years, though, the number of Bathtub Mary shrines has dwindled. This is in part because older generations are passing away, but it is mostly because there simply aren't as many cast-iron tubs.
"It has more to do with bathtub technology," says Jeannie Thomas, director of the folklore program at Utah State University. "The structure isn't quite the same as it used to be. You are getting these molded plastic things that they are putting in."
The makeshift monuments' origins trace back to European culture where it was common practice to have outdoor shrines, Thomas says. With mass production in the 19th century, statuary became accessible to more people.
"They started to make statuary that was smaller, cheaper material and more affordable," she says. "The average person could have a shrine that was found in cathedrals."
When I read this article my visualization of these Bathtub Mary's was quite different from the reality. I though of a bathub laid out horizontally as you would normally see one.
I found this example of a real one and it is kind of cool.
Known as 
I can't believe you've never seen one of those before!
These things are all over the place in southwestern PA. We had one in my backyard as a kid. Although ours had rocks piled up like bricks around the sides and back so it looked less like a bathtub and more like Lourdes...
This is a grotto. Here in the Philippines, some years ago it was very common to build houses with grottoes (but not made out of bathtubs.) You can still see some around, in houses built in the 50's and 60's.
These are all over the place in South Louisiana.
I call 'em Mary-in-the-half-shell.
I started to leave a rather lengthy comment in support of such shrines, but I blogged it instead.
My in-laws used to have one similar to that until the tub failed to survive a particularly bad winter. Now my father-in-law has built Mary a nice little half-shed that has vines growing over it and wildflowers all around.
It looks more appealing for prayer and reflection
than the modern church interior we are plagued with today.
I've seen these and the sink versions, too. In our small town, we have a non-practicing Catholic who was inspired to build a Marian shrine from lattice, coloured lights, cherub statuary, etc. He also anchored the statue with about 8 feet of concrete, making would-be vandals unable to move it! It's about 7 feet tall and 15 wide.
That is really neat. I've never seen one of those before - at least not made from a bathtub!
Reminds me of the Dickeyville Grotto.
It was great to stumble upon this in my internet search. These Marys are all over central Minnesota where there are lots of German and Polish Catholics. I am working on a documentary of these special pieces of religious folk art. If anyone would like to correspond with me or send information my way, my e-mail is mlmoga@hotmail.com.
I grew up in northwestern Massachusetts in the Berkshires, and many of the Catholic families in the area were of Polish and German descent -- and many of them had "bathtub Marys." As a Protestant kid, part of a very small minority, I remember being jealous that Catholic kids all had cool things in their churches and in their yards. Who knew it was at least partly a practical way to deal with outdated cast iron tubs. Leave it to thrifty Northerners!