In 1927, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was celebrating 50 years since it achieved statehood. Usually, there would be an annual festival called “Tulsarama” to commemorate the event. However, officials decided to bury a time capsule right outside the city courthouse with the historical item. And that item was a brand new desert gold and sand dune 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe! The car was dug up for the first time, exactly 50 years later. The condition of the car will amaze you.
The Unique Legacy of Tulsa
Additionally, the residents of Tulsa wanted to make sure that their legacy would live on after them. In order to make this happen, they buried small, waterproof steel containers under the strong and heavy cement vault. The city officials believed that future generations could find these items and learn more about what life was like during that time.
The chairman of the city’s Jubilee Commission, Louis Roberts, explained that the Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was selected as the historical item to be buried because they wanted a car to commemorate Tulsa’s industrial ingenuity. It was a fully equipped Plymouth V8 Coupe in desert gold and sand dunes. And the white color of the vinyl top really made the car stand out.
On May 28th, 1957, the Plymouth was driven into a pre-dug hole outside the Tulsa County Courthouse. Then, it was lowered by a crane onto a concrete platform that can bear the nuclear bomb explosion. The car was filled with various items that were common during that time, such as a pack of cigarettes, a can of Schlitz beer, a bottle of Oklahoma crude oil, and many more. After these items were placed inside the Plymouth, the car was covered with a car cover and then a heavy-duty cement vault was placed on top of it.
On June 15, 2007, the car was exhumed for the first time after being buried for 50 years. To ensure that the process went smoothly, preparations had been made 18 months earlier. The event was attended by 9000 people, which includes tourists, media, and city residents. Unfortunately, the area where the car was buried was not waterproof. Due to this, the color of the car has changed in a very bad way. Additionally, there were some engineering errors at that time, which caused the water to seep in and damage the car.
Everyone was shocked to see the car in that condition. In those 50 years, it had obviously been through a lot. The interior of the car was completely ruined, and it appeared as if Miss Belvedere had been in a lot of water. The cans were totally rusted, the engine was seized and the tires were completely flat. In short, the car was a write-off.
Raymond Humbertson was announced as a lucky winner of a 2007 jackpot from the population of 348,743 people. Unfortunately, Raymond Humbertson is no more and his wife also passed in 1988. But they have left two sisters and a nephew who are now the owners of the car. Along with the car, they also received total money of $666.85. According to the pictures, this amount of money is not enough to fix the car.
Miss Belvedere got a new home in the museum, but it’s not in a driving condition. It is the Historic Auto Attractions museum which is located in Illinois. The visitors can still see this car and its impressive story. Robert Kearney, the new owner of this special car, is very happy that the car is safe and has got a new home where it can be preserved for future generations.
