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Set against the vibrant blue Tulsa sky, a 76-foot statue of a golden man in a hard hat strikes a power pose.
An icon of the Oklahoma oil industry, the Golden Driller was first created in 1953 for the International Petroleum Exposition. It was re-created for the expo’s 1959 edition before being permanently erected in 1966, commemorating Tulsa as the Oil Capital of the World.
Years later, the city of Tulsa restored the statue and it was named the state monument of Oklahoma in 1979. In 2006, the statue was named a top 10 “quirkiest destination” in the United States.