A 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried in Tulsa

[mustang84]

How cool is this? I bet the people of 1957 never expected that Plymouth would be phased out in 2001.

Time Capsule

"This is the sort of thing that could happen only in Tulsa," spoke Lewis Roberts Jr. during dedication ceremonies marking the observance of Tulsa's Golden Jubilee Week. "TuIsarama!" chairman Roberts' made his remarks as citizens prepared to entomb a new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe as part of a time capsule buried on the southeast corner of the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn.

Why would anyone want to bury a new car? Roberts was asked. "The 'Tulsarama!' committee," he replied, "decided on the event after looking for a method of acquainting the citizens of the twenty first century with a suitable representation of 1957 civilization."

"In our judgment," commented W.A. Anderson, Jubilee chairman, "Plymouth is a true representative of automobiles of this century - with the kind of lasting appeal that should still be in style fifty years from now.... Tulsans think big. And we feel we can over come any technical difficulties we encounter [burying the Plymouth] including the possibility of striking oil in our excavation!'

Supplied through the cooperation of the Plymouth Division of Chrysler and Tulsa Plymouth dealers Wilkerson Motor Company, Cox Motor Company. Vance Motor Company, Forster Riggs and Parrish-Clark, the Belvedere has remained buried since June 15, 1957.

As part of the "Tulsarama!" festivities, citizens of Tulsa were asked to guess what the population of Tulsa would be in the year 2007. The guesses were then recorded on microfilm and sealed in a steel container buried with the car. When the car and artifacts are excavated, the person whose guess is closest to Tulsa's 2007 population is to be awarded the Belvedere. If that person is dead, the car is to be awarded to his or her heirs.

Edited January 2, 2006 by mustang84

[Flybrian]

So, is the car actually buried in some sort of protective cocoon or did they just lower the car into a hole? 'Cause if its the latter, they can keep their rusted hulk.

[balthazar]

It's in a concrete vault, but how or how well that was sealed, I don't know. I can easily see this baby, even if surface-rusted & dry-rotted all over, going on eBay for huge coin. It's the only brand new '57 Plymouth left!

[mustang84]

According to the website, even though it's in a concrete tomb with some type of protective wrapping around the car, the vibrations from heavy traffic nearby may have caused the concrete to crack over the last 50 years. It's interesting to note that they included a 5 gallon can of gasoline in the trunk, plus other items from 1957.

[Sixty8panther]

I heard about this but was told it was a Dodge. Sweet Post!!!

[HarleyEarl]

I love this kind of stuff......can't wait for a photo of this baby. What great fun.