Hundreds of people attended the dedication ceremony Saturday for the new, 21-foot-tall Buck Atom space cowboy sculpture at the Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curious shop on 66 shop in Tulsa.
Prominent figures such as Mayor G.T. Bynum, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, “Route 66: The Mother Road” author Michael Wallis, Abby Kurin of the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture and “American Giant Co.’s Joel Baker gave speeches in addition to shop owner Mary Beth Babcock, who shepherded the event.
Miss Oklahoma Route 66 was there to tape the event. The video is about 40 minutes.
Babcock’s attraction is a rarity — a brand-new, unique Muffler Man that isn’t a repurposed version of the hundreds of fiberglass figures created during the 1960s. Several Muffler Men still exist on Route 66, but this is the first new one in decades.
A fan of Muffler Men did some on-the-spot reporting from the event, as well:
The fiberglass figure that shop owner Babcock designed about 18 months ago arrived Friday in Tulsa. Virginia-based Enchanted Castle Studios built Buck Atom, and Chris Wollard built the silvery rocket ship Buck carries. The folks from American Giants installed it that day.
A parade of art cars escorted Buck Atom in Tulsa as it arrived at the shop Friday:
Here’s one TV station’s report on the installation:
Here’s a local radio station’s interview Friday with Babcock from the installation Friday. It’s a good interview, because it provides a lot of background and Babcock’s enthusiasm comes through.
Babcock was a major booster in the revitalization of downtown Tulsa with her previous store, Dwelling Spaces. Route 66 is lucky to have her.
(Image from Buck Atom space cowboy dedication from Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios 66 in Tulsa via Facebook)
That looks fantastic! She’s created a “must stop” photo opportunuty for her business. I wish her much success.
Good to see Ron Jones in the TV news story. I haven’t heard from him since Laurel Kane passed away and Afton Station closed.