The Big Dig: Prowler's condition in '48 has better odds
BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
Saturday, June 16, 2007
6/16/07 at 6:27 AM
Officials took
different precautions
for the car in the
1998 time capsule.
Encased in modern plastics
and stored in a vault above
ground, a 1998 Plymouth
Prowler stands a good chance
of emerging from its time capsule in better shape than the
1957 Plymouth Belvedere, officials said Friday.
Entombed at Centennial
Park as part of the city of Tulsa's 100th birthday celebration, the Prowler's time capsule won't be opened until 2048.
Instead of being lowered into an underground vault like
the Belvedere, the Prowler
was driven into an above-ground mausoleum, which
was then sealed shut and partly covered with dirt.
"That should bode well for it
being a little more resistant to
water," said Ed Monnet, a past
president of the Rotary Club of
Tulsa, which collected memorabilia to include with the car.
And instead of being
wrapped in plastic sheeting
like the Belvedere, the Prowler was enclosed in a seamless
plastic "box," specially manufactured here in Tulsa for the
time capsule, Monnet said.
Locked away on Jan. 17,
1998, the purple-painted Prowler was a rare prototype
of what was then a brand-new
design, meant to resemble a
1950s dragster.
Officials drained the oil and
other fluids, replacing them
with synthetics that won't degrade, officials said. And the
vault itself was filled with an
inert gas to keep the exterior
in good shape.
Along with the car, the Rotary Club enclosed a huge collection of keepsakes, including a teddy bear, a pair of
in-line skates, an envelope
with four crisp $50 bills, a cellular phone, a postal uniform,
a business card from an Arabian horse dealer, a family photo
album, a case of Webers Root
Beer and the faceplate from an
ATM.
If Monnet remembers correctly, the time capsule also
holds a large collection of
Beanie Babies, which were at
the height of their craze at the
time.
"People tried to think of
things that would define
1998," Monnet said. "And especially things that might not
be the same when the vault is
opened."
In 2003, officials moved the
time capsule to make way for
the construction of a new park
center and a retention pond.
But the capsule wasn't
opened, and the new location
remains in Centennial Park
near the original site.
Michael Overall 581-8383
michael.overall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
A 1998 Plymouth Prowler sits at the entrance of an
above-ground mausoleum, where it was entombed at
Centennial Park during the city’s 100th birthday celebration.
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