Hidden · Tulsa, United States
Golden Driller
A 76-foot oil worker made of steel and concrete that began as a trade show prop and became Oklahoma’s state monument.
A giant oil worker with a hand on a derrick.
The Golden Driller stands in front of the Tulsa Expo Center and has been there since 1966. It is 76 feet (23 m) tall and weighs 43,500 pounds (19,700 kg), a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster. It is the seventh-tallest statue in the United States. Its right hand rests on an oil derrick that was moved from a depleted oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.
The statistics attached to the figure are part of the fun: a belt said to measure 48 feet around, and a shoe size of 393DDD. An inscription at the base calls the statue a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition and dedicates it to the men of the petroleum industry.
From a temporary show prop to a state monument.
A first version was built in 1952 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth as a temporary feature of the International Petroleum Exposition, and another was put up for the 1959 show. The attention it drew led the company to donate it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority, which had it redesigned and permanently installed for the 1966 exposition. Its belt buckle first read “Mid-Continent” and was changed to “Tulsa” in 1979.
That same year the Oklahoma Legislature adopted the Golden Driller as the state monument. In 2006 an online contest by Kimberly-Clark picked it as a top ten “quirkiest destination” in the United States, and a free-fall ride at the Fraispertuis City amusement park in France uses a smaller replica of the statue in its decor.
The statue from head to boot.
Practical notes.
Before you go.
How tall is the Golden Driller?
The statue is 76 feet (23 m) tall and weighs 43,500 pounds (19,700 kg). It is the seventh-tallest statue in the United States.
What is the Golden Driller made of?
It is a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster.
Why is there a statue of an oil worker in Tulsa?
It began in 1952 as a temporary feature of the International Petroleum Exposition. In 1966 it was installed permanently at the Tulsa Expo Center, and in 1979 it became the Oklahoma state monument.
What is the derrick next to the statue?
The statue’s right hand rests on an oil derrick that was moved from a depleted oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.
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