James S. Wood / arizona daily star

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There may be time to save paradise before they put up a parking lot.

A state representative is in talks with the new owners of Magic Carpet Golf on East Speedway to designate the mini-golf course's larger-than-life statues as part of the Arizona Centennial Project, a historic-preservation effort linked to the state's celebration of its 100th birthday in 2012.

"It's just so eccentric and unique," Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said Thursday.

Farley said he plans to find a new home for the oddball structures at another of Tucson's funky attractions, the Valley of the Moon, either in the short term or permanently part of that park's exhibits. But that fantasy-theme park is having its own problems and may shut down, pending a fundraiser aimed at generating $500,000.

The combined idea, Farley said, would be sent to the Centennial Project for approval, although state officials said they did not yet know how funding would apply to designated projects.

"It's really important to save the soul of a place," Farley said.

Magic Carpet, at 6125 E. Speedway, is known for its skyline of towering monkey and T-Rex figures that complement a decrepit miniature-golf course.

But the park's former owner, Carol Koplin, sold the property Jan. 4 to the owners of Chapman Automotive Group for $1.8 million after her uncle, who ran the park, died before Christmas.

A Chapman executive, David Bower, told the Arizona Daily Star last week that the property may become an overflow lot for his company's nearby Mercedes dealership. But, he said, there are no final plans.

"Any way to save it is better than having it demolished," said Carlos Lozano, who runs the Internet group VanishingTucson.com.

He said his group plans to examine the structures to see how easy — or impossible — it is to uproot them.

Valley of the Moon, at 2544 E. Allen Road, hosted its own preservation event Jan. 19 to save itself "from extinction."

The park, built in the 1920s by George Phar Legler, is home to rock-and-desert structures, such as an enchanted garden and a wizard's tower.

The Magic Carpet structures are also considered a touch of "outsider art," an extraordinary form of art usually made by people with no training.

The project has drawn the attention of an official at Downtown's Museum of Contemporary Art, Farley said.

Farley is helping to connect the group with funding sources for outsider-art preservation.

"We need to make something happen," Farley said. "We're losing too many of these places that make us unique."