Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor on Thursday presided over the dedication of an 8-foot-tall replica of a classic toy robot along Route 66 in Oklahoma City in front of the historic Tower Theatre.
This is the second big robot along the Mother Road in Oklahoma. The first is stationed at the Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on Route 66 store by its creator, Mary Beth Babcock, in Tulsa.
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who also is the state’s tourism director, posted these images on Facebook:
More images from Babcock:
Pinnell also put out this press release before the second robot’s dedication:
Standing at 8-feet-tall and weighing 900 pounds, this statue is reminiscent of the 1950s, the glory days of Route 66. Rt-19 is part of the “Robots on 66” series, a creative project that adds fun robot statues to popular destinations along Oklahoma’s stretch of Route 66. A partnership with the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission and Sawyer Manufacturing, this new robot statue will welcome Oklahomans and tourists to the Uptown 23rd St. District in Oklahoma City, across the street from the historic Tower Theatre.
“I’m thrilled to be involved in the creation and installation of Rt-19, a new addition to the Robots on 66 series,” said Lt. Governor Pinnell. “The historic Tower Theatre has been one of Oklahoma’s go-to places for live music, movies, and other events for almost 60 years. The new statue will encourage people to come visit and support small businesses in a growing Route 66 district.”
Babcock wrote about the robots’ genesis on Facebook:
Robots on 66 was a wacky idea I had over 10 years ago when Chris Wollard & I were trying to get a GIGANTIC robot on top of Dwelling Spaces old shop. We ran into walls left & right. Fast forward. I told Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell about Robots on 66 vision. He talked to Sawyer Mfg Company and MAGIC. The 1st of this series is at Buck Atom’s in Tulsa.
Babcock posted this photo on Instagram of the second robot being loaded up to be taken to its OKC site:
(Image of Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell and Mary Beth Babcock in front of the Robot on 66 in Oklahoma City)
What ever happen to e-mailing stories, to people?
I haven’t done anything on my end. I’ll submit a ticket to the plug-in that works it and see what the problem is.
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We are excited to collaborate with Lt. Governor Pinnell and Mary Beth Babcock to bring the Robots to life! Robots on 66 are custom fabricated in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Sawyer Fabrication – sawyerfab.com