A Major Monument Could Plant Its Feet In Tulsaâ€¦Drawing Millions of Visitors

The artist behind "The American", a proposed 17-story bronze statue, met with city leaders today about what the piece could mean for the future of Tulsa.<br><br>Several Tulsa locations are being considered,

Tuesday, March 16th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The artist behind "The American", a proposed 17-story bronze statue, met with city leaders today about what the piece could mean for the future of Tulsa.

Several Tulsa locations are being considered, any of which would change the view in downtown Tulsa, and the way visitors view Tulsa.

The 26-million dollar statue would be the world's largest freestanding bronze sculpture. â€œThe Americanâ€ stands taller than the statue of liberty.

Shan Gray, the artist of â€œThe Americanâ€ said, "It symbolizes many things on many fronts, probably foremost is the imagery of the eagle and the Native American and the wind blowing which represents the winds of adversity of the two coming together."

The project is privately funded and developers say it would bring in millions of tourism dollars. The debate is where to locate the monument. Both Tulsa and Oklahoma City are vying for it.

Tulsa leaders are united in their support of bringing the statue to Tulsa, but the majority of investors are from Oklahoma City, so the final location of â€œThe Americanâ€ is anyone's guess.

The Tulsa locations have been narrowed down to Riverside and 21st., near the OSU campus or Holmes peak, or near the botanical gardens. The top Oklahoma City proposal is near the Canadian River.

The artist and project developers will make the final decision by April 1st.