The story behind 5:04 PM, the art car made by the Loma Prieta earthquake

Twenty-eight years ago today, an art car was born in an earthquake.

Its owner, Burning Man founder Michael Mikel (aka "Danger Ranger"), shares the story:

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 PM, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area and a brick wall collapsed on the rear half of an Olds Cutlass parked by Clayton and Page streets. Michael Michael saw it there and the creative wheels began to turn. I bet that will still run, he mused, and he placed a note on the car offering to buy it.

Within a few days, the car had changed hands, and with the addition of a new paint job and a license plate bearing the exact time of the earthquake, it became a conceptional art piece and a testament to the powerful forces of nature

In 1991, 5:04 was the first art car to make an appearance at Burning Man, beginning a trend that has grown to epic proportions.

This legendary car made an illustrated appearance in John Law's 2013 book, Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society:

recent photo by Michael Mikel, 1991 photo and art by Kevin Evans