Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to show you a few statues I have found in Downtown Oklahoma City when I’ve gone out walking. The statues I am going to show you in this post have historical significance. There are several more abstract sculptures and statues in Oklahoma City, but I am not going to include them in this post.
As usual, I have transcribed the plaques underneath the photos and hope this helps make reading the information easier. Let’s get started!
Pioneers of 1889
“Strong men and women came upon a raw land
With vision…
They spanned rivers and prairies and mountains with determination…
They created schools – churches – farms – factories
They lifted great buildings to the skies
They drilled deep wells into oil rich earth with thankfulness to their God…
They are still exploring future frontiers
Passersby look about and ask this question:
Where else within a single lifespan have they built to mightily?”
Artist: Leonard McMurry (American, 1913-2008), Bronze.
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. B.D. Eddie in 1959
And lovingly restored by their grandchildren in 2016
Air Force Monument
Leonard McMurry, Sculptor
Dedicated October 19, 1964
Restored July 1, 2003
“Dedicated to the memory of those Oklahomans who have given their lives while serving their country as members of the United States Air Force and for the working men and women at Tinker Air Force Base, both military and civilian, who have and continue to give of themselves for the defense of the homeland we so dearly love.”
“Search now the spheres
Probe the universe
Bring back word
What force so irresistible
As the will of free men”
Stanley Draper
“He dreamed impossible dreams… then inspired and united all who could make them probable.
He strengthened our stakes, lengthened our cords.. and the dreams soared to reality.
His was the spirit of Oklahoma City.
Look around you! What you see today was his tomorrow… yesterday.”
By Ray Ackerman
Stanley Draper Expressway
Dedicated January 8, 1966
This statue of Stanley Draper sits in front of City Hall in Oklahoma City. The statue sits to the right of the fountain in the photo below. It is across the street from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Native American Statue
2010-2011
“Presented to the Citizens of Oklahoma City by the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City in recognition of the Club’s Centennial.”
1910-2010
This statue sits outside the Skirvin Hotel in Downtown Oklahoma City.
Centennial Land Run Monument
“The Centennial Land Run Monument commemorates the opening of the Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma Territory with the Land Run of 1889. It is on of the world’s largest bronze sculptures featuring 45 life-and-one-half sized figures of Land Run participants. The frenzied energy and emption are captured in one frozen instant by artist Paul Moore. Mr. Moore is an internationally acclaimed sculptor and artist who also served as the Artist in Residence and Professor of Figurative Sculpture at the University of Oklahoma. The monument is over 100 yards long, over 30 yards wide, and over 16 feet high. It was twenty years in the making and became a multi-generational work with Moore’s sons Todd and Ryan working with their dad to produce and complete the sculptures.
About the Artist
Paul Moore is a fifth generation Oklahoman who gained national and international recognition with his sculpture. He was born in Oklahoma City in 1957 and is a citizen of the (Creek) Muscogee Nation, Sweet Potato Clan. Moore is a Fellow and previous Board Member of the National Sculpture Society and an Emeritus Member and previous Board Member of the Cowboy Artists of America. He is in constant demand for portrait and monumental commissions.
Moore left Santa Fe, New Mexico where he raised for 13 years to open his own private studio in Norman, Oklahoma in 1997. He was hired to revive and develop the University of Oklahoma’s Figurative Sculpture Program, which had been non-existent since 1969, and to the University’s first Artist in Residence. He is the second figurative sculpting instructor in the University’s history. In the past 40 years he has sculpted more than 160 commissions.
Awards and Honors
Moore has received numerous awards and accolades for his sculpture. The National Sculpture Society presented Moore with the nation’s highest award for sculpture, the Special Medal of Honor, at its annual conference in 2021. In the society’s 129-year history only 29 artists have received this prestigious award. He has also received numerous awards from the Prix de West, an annual world-renowned show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. His portrait and figurative sculptures are represented in prominent institutions nationally and internationally. To learn more about the artist and his work and for a complete list of awards and honors: crownartsinc.com”
The Centennial Land Run Monument is located near Bass Pro in Bricktown. I wrote a longer blog post about the history of the monument and the sculptor. You can read it here, “Centennial Land Run Monument in Oklahoma City.”
The Active Historian 
Leave a comment