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The Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth first introduced the Golden
Driller in 1953 at the International Petroleum Exposition. It was temporarily
erected again for the 1959 show and attracted so much attention that the company
had it rehabilitated and donated it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust
Authority. It was permanently installed at the 21st Street and Pittsburg Avenue
site for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition. His right hand rests on an
old production oil derrick moved from an oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.
The Driller has been ravaged by weather, survived tornadoes, photo sessions
with tourists, attacked by vandals, assaulted by souvenir seekers, shotgun
blasts, and has even had an arrow in the back. Art critics have even ridiculed
the poor old man.
The basic angle-iron structure made of plaster and concrete will withstand
200 mile-an-hour winds. It was refurbished and painted gold by Gibco, Inc.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, in time for the International Petroleum Exposition of 1979.
Since then the Golden Driller has guarded the main entrance of the Exposition
Center where various trade shows, conventions and consumer events are held. He
has collected a host of friends, not only in Tulsa, but also from around the
world.
The "Golden Driller," has towered above the International Petroleum
Exhibition (IPE) Building, on the Tulsa Fair Grounds, since 1966. The
International Petroleum Exhibition (IPE) Building claims to have the world's
largest unobstructed interior volume. The roof of the building is suspended by a
mesh of exterior beams and cables, leaving plenty of room for monster equipment
shows and the latest model backyard derricks.
Golden Driller Statistics:
Largest freestanding statue in the world
Weight - 43,500 pounds
Height - 76 feet
Belt size - 48-feet in circumference
Shoe size - 393DDD
Hat size - 112 hard hat
Post a picture of yourself with the Golden Driller.