Roadside astronaut: Towering ‘Space City’ statue stands on Route 66

— Move over Houston… one other U.S. city has declared itself “Space City” and has a brand new roadside attraction to assist its declare.

The City of Weatherford, Oklahoma on Thursday (Aug. 22) held a ribbon reducing ceremony for its 30-foot-tall (9-meter) astronaut. The spacesuit-clad statue has a painted moonscape because the reflection in its helmet’s visor, however it really overlooks an iconic roadway celebrating its one centesimal yr in 2026.

“It’s connecting the dots for all of these Route 66 travelers,” mentioned Oklahoma’s Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, who helped dedicate the statue, in an interview with KFOR, the native NBC News affiliate.

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce supplied Weatherford with $1 million from its Route 66 Commission to fund the creation of the astronaut and associated “Space City” highway indicators. The city hosts Oklahoma’s largest stretch of Route 66, one of many United States’ first and most well-known highways.

“What an incredible day in Weatherford!” native officers wrote in a social media post on Friday. “The City of Weatherford, the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce and our community came together to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the Weatherford Route 66 Project! This project is another exciting step toward growing and showcasing our amazing community.”

Since 1993, Weatherford has been dwelling to the Stafford Air and Space Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate that was named after the late NASA astronaut and Oklahoma native Thomas Stafford. The 63,000-square-foot (5,900-square-meter) museum chronicles aviation and area exploration historical past with a particular concentrate on the contributions made by its namesake.

The museum shows Stafford’s Gemini 6 spacecraft and is the one place on the earth you may see test-fired engines from each the U.S. Saturn V and former Soviet Union’s N-1 moon rockets.

“As the Space City of Route 66, this larger-than-life tribute to ambition, exploration and innovation is the perfect addition to our community,” the Stafford museum’s employees mentioned in a statement. “The vision behind this project aligns beautifully with our mission — to inspire future generations to reach for the stars.”

“This statue isn’t just a landmark,” the museum’s submit continued, “it’s a bold statement that Weatherford, Oklahoma, is a place where history, adventure and discovery collide!”

The fiberglass astronaut, which stands on the nook of Broadway and Main at McPhetridge Centennial Park, shouldn’t be straight modeled after Stafford. Its spacesuit loosely resembles the clothes that he wore into Earth orbit and to fly across the moon, in addition to meet up with Soviet cosmonauts in area. The statue shows each a NASA insignia and the highway signal emblem for Route 66.

“This exceeded my expectations. I mean, it’s really a showstopper,” Pinnell mentioned.

The hope, in accordance with Weatherford Mayor Mike Brown, is that the statue will present one more reason for vacationers to return go to, eat at native eating places and keep the evening. In addition to the astronaut, Weatherford can also be putting in new light-up Route 66 highway makers that spotlight it being “Space City” on Route 66.

Pinnell recently called for Oklahoma to develop its funding in aerospace, which at the moment ranks second among the many state’s industries.

“Oklahoma with the right vision, investment, and leadership is uniquely positioned to be a global leader in this space-driven future,” wrote the lieutenant governor. “A thriving space industry in Oklahoma will inspire students to pursue STEM careers, keep top talent in-state, and open doors for future generations to explore the final frontier not from afar, but from their own backyard.”