On April 9, 1966, the towering Golden Driller statue debuted at the International Petroleum Exposition in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Standing 76 feet tall and weighing 22 tons, the statue quickly became a symbol of American oilfield labor and pride.
The structure contains 2.5 miles of steel rods and mesh, reinforced with plaster and concrete, and is engineered to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour. A smaller version of the Driller first appeared in 1953 as a promotional display for an oilfield supply company, before Tulsa embraced the larger figure as a permanent landmark.
Today, the Golden Driller remains one of the most recognizable monuments celebrating the oil and gas workforce.
