The ''Golden Driller'' is a , statue of an oil worker, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. The structure is a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster. It is the sixth-tallest statue in the United States and has been located in front of the

Tulsa Expo Center SageNet Center, originally known as the Exposition Center from 1966 to 2007 and QuikTrip Center, until 2012, and River Spirit Expo from 2013 to 2021, is the center of the Tulsa State Fair and one of the largest clearspan buildings in the world. Th ...

since 1966.

Overview

A version of the ''Golden Driller'' was originally built in 1952 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

as a temporary feature of the

International Petroleum Exposition The International Petroleum Exposition (IPE) was a specialized trade fair held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at varying intervals from 1923 to 1979. Its main purposes were to display the latest oil industry technology, sell equipment and services, and to ed ...

. Six years later, one was erected again for the 1959 show. Due to the positive attention it attracted, the company donated the statue to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority which had it anatomically redesigned and permanently installed in front of the

for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition. The statue's right hand rests on an

oil derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and ...

which had been moved from a depleted

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

Seminole, Oklahoma Seminole ( sac, Sheminônîheki) is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,488 at the 2010 census. Seminole experienced a large population growth in the 1920s due to an oil boom. History The city was platted i ...

. An inscription at the base of the statue reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind." In 1979, the ''Golden Driller'' was adopted by the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 sta ...

as the state monument. As part of an online promotional contest sponsored by

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...

in October 2006, the ''Golden Driller'' was named the grand prize as a top ten "quirkiest destination" in the United States, winning its nominator a $90,000 international vacation for two. His stats are said to include: Belt size - 48 ft in circumference, Shoe size- 393DDD, and Hat size - 112 hard hat. His belt originally read "MID-CONTINENT", but was changed in 1979 to the current buckle that says "TULSA".

Branding

On May 20, 2020, as part of Tulsa's bid for Gigafactory 5 construction by

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...

, the original "Tulsa" on the statue's

belt buckle A belt buckle is a buckle, a clasp for fastening two ends, such as of straps or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English via Old French and the Latin ''buccula' ...

was replaced by the world "Tesla," to create a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

. This was the first time

wrap advertising Wrap advertising or a vehicle wrap is known as the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping) a vehicle in a vinyl material, which may be for a color change, advertising or custom delivery. The result of this process is e ...

had been applied to the driller's face.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news, url=https://ktul.com/news/local/golden-driller-transformed-into-elon-musk, title=Golden Driller transformed into Elon Musk, first=Burt, last=Mummolo, work=

KTUL KTUL (channel 8) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located at Lookout Mountain (near South 29th West Avenue, west of Interstate 244) ...

, date=2020-05-20, access-date=2020-05-20, quote=at the Golden Driller... "Hey Kurt, we have some people who want to wrap the Driller!" That's the phone call Kurt Stenstrom of Meeks Group received over the weekend … "This is the first time the face has ever been wrapped," he said.

External links

Expo Square
- Home of the ''Golden Driller''
''Golden Driller'' appearance
in ''

Zippy the Pinhead Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...

'' comic strip from May 24, 2005 1953 sculptures Culture of Tulsa, Oklahoma Outdoor sculptures in Oklahoma History of Tulsa, Oklahoma Roadside attractions in Oklahoma Novelty buildings in Oklahoma Colossal statues in the United States Concrete sculptures in the United States Tourist attractions in Tulsa, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Tulsa, Oklahoma Sculptures of men in Oklahoma Statues in Oklahoma 1953 establishments in Oklahoma Symbols of Oklahoma Oklahoma culture

Overview

Branding

See also

References

External links