Golden Driller

Oklahoma's state monument is a giant oil worker with one hand on a derrick, and he began life as a trade-show promotion. According to the American Oil & Gas Historical Society (AOGHS), the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth, Texas, conceived the golden roustabout, which appeared at the Tulsa International Petroleum Exposition in 1953. It proved popular enough to return in 1959 as a rig-climbing version, and AOGHS says the company went on to donate it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority. AOGHS says the permanent 1966 statue took its new look from Greek-born artist George Hondronastas, who had worked on the 1953 figure, and was built with steel rods to withstand winds of up to 200 mph. Expo Square's history page says the Golden Driller was added as a symbol of the exposition in 1966, and AOGHS reports it was refurbished in 1979 after becoming a state monument. The right hand rests on an old production derrick that AOGHS says was moved from oilfields near Seminole, and a plaque at the base is dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry. TravelOK and Expo Square give 76 feet and 43,500 pounds. For the claim to size, AOGHS reports that Tulsa city officials call it the largest free-standing statue in the world, while TravelOK calls it one of the tallest freestanding statues in the United States. AOGHS says it was painted in 2011. It stands at Expo Square, East 21st Street and South Pittsburg Avenue.