Tulsa Golden Driller
Tulsa was once known as the "Oil Capital of the world", so a monument that represents Tulsa's historic status in the oil boom seems like a no brainer.
You can find him standing proud in front of the fair grounds on 21st street between Harvard and Yale, as he has for decades but many who drive by daily might not be aware that he used to look a little bit different.
Our first golden guy first appeared in 1953. A commission sponsored by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth, Texas, for the International Petroleum Exposition. Though this statue was only temporary, he was popular enough that a few years later, a smaller version (now climbing an oil rig) went up at the exposition in 1959.
Over the next few years George “Grecco” Hondronastas, a Greek immigrant who worked on the original driller, designed a new Driller design that could weather the changing seasons and permanently stand erect.
Since then the Driller has seen his fair share of hard times but he still stands strong, a symbol of Tulsa's past that will stand with us as we move towards the future
Be sure to come by Decopolis and check out our postcards, prints and other Tulsa Driller Memorabilia!