Albert Ferreras
Tulsa, Oklahoma, Friday June 14, 1957. In front of the City Hall, and amid great anticipation, a brand new gold and white Plymouth Belvedere is going to be deposited inside a concrete sarcophagus, prepared even to withstand a nuclear attack. . It is an urn of time, created especially to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of that North American state. The Plymouth will remain buried for fifty years, and will open with the XNUMXst century just ripped off.
In its trunk a tank with 40 liters of gasoline has been left -in case in the future this precious element no longer exists-, a liter of oil, a box of Schlitz beers, records, a Bible along with the history of the churches of Tulsa, an American flag, an unpaid parking ticket, and a $ 100 savings passbook. The capsule also contains postcards of citizens in which the possible number of inhabitants that the city could have in 2007 has been written.
The person -or his descendant- who comes closest to the official census of that year will win the car and the current account. In the passenger compartment there are hair clips, a bottle of tranquilizers, a pack of cigarettes and a photograph of a smiling 20-year-old girlfriend. Once deposited inside the pit, the Plymouth is covered with plastic and enclosed under a slab of several tons that will keep it in darkness and silence until the next millennium ...
its display at Tulsa City Hall, after being unearthed days before
Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 12, 2007. Two days before the scheduled date, the operators gain time by moving the large slab that covers Mrs Belvedere. And when they remove it ... no sign of the car! Well, to be more exact, where it should be is 8.000 liters of stagnant water with, presumably, the '57 automotive gem inside the devastating pool. The explanation is as simple as it is surprisingly disappointing: the technicians built a safe haven for nuclear bombs ... but not for groundwater.
Two days later, that is, fifty years after its burial and after partially pumping the water from the pit, the Plymouth Belvedere, still covered by what remains of its plastic wrap, is removed thanks to a huge crane, finally emerging from its crypt. It is not yet known what really happened inside that plastic that maintains the silhouette of a vehicle but that may just be that, a form without content.
What appears to be still a Belvedere is transferred to the city's Convention Center. There, once stripped of the protective materials, citizens can appreciate that the splendor of the Plymouth has been completely destroyed. Except for the structure, nothing remains of that vehicle chosen to go to the future for being "A genuine product of American industry, which will still be in style 50 years from now."
Although corroded, it still maintains its stamp, and despite its closure under water, the tires still have inside them the air of Tulsa in the year 57. From their interior, remains and forms of what one day became the preference of their potential buyers. The engine and other mechanical components will never move again. The chrome and emblems of the brand are the ones that have best withstood the passage of time: They were the only ones that subsequently recovered a minimum part of the lost luster.
What's New Plymouth Belvedere?
But, after coming back from earth, what has happened to the Plymouth in these six years? After learning that its winner, Raymond E. Humbertson, had passed away in 1997, initially his sisters Levada, 86, and Catherine, 95, took over the car and decided to leave it in the hands of a New York company. Jersey specialized in stopping the corrosion of metals. If not, Mrs Belvedere it would have literally come apart in a few months as the rusted metal came into contact with the atmosphere.
After his transfer to the new destination, the current person in charge is Dwight Foster, owner of Ultra One Corporation, a company that sells a chemical called Safestrustremover. Foster evaluated the condition of the vehicle and, for a year and a half, applied his remedy.
After 18 months of work, some parts of the Plymouth improved their appearance - even bringing out the original gold and white colors - but the whole is still in an extremely delicate condition. "It's like an artifact from the Titanic", states Foster. «You have to be very careful with him. It is as fragile as if it were paper. "
The Belvedere has too many holes and flaws for the car to be fully restored and run again. In fact, Foster is not sure that it is possible to open the doors without risk of damage to the structure of the vehicle. "We must stabilize it, and preserve it", Add.
From this decision, the questions are now different, and the most important of all is what to do in the future with Mrs Belvedere. The city of Tulsa has offered its owners the amount of $ 10.000 for the vehicle, so that new generations can see it in a museum, or even transport it and exhibit it in different parts of the country with the help of a sponsor. However, the family has declined the offer: they argue that many museums might be interested in it, taking into account that it is a unique car in the world.
Or at least for now. How could it be otherwise, in Tulsa another Plymouth was encapsulated in 1998 with the aim of commemorating the centennial of this city, which was incorporated into Oklahoma in 1898. This time the chosen one was the prototype of the Prowler, a model of futuristic look that was discontinued in 2001 and that, if survive to this adventure in time, it will see the light again in 50 years when the corresponding anniversary is celebrated in 2048.
The quality of your shelter has been improved, placing it above ground level and sealing and pressurizing it. Once decapsulated, the vehicle will be returned to Chrysler, its rightful owner. We trust that someone can chronicle The Escudería from that moment ...
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Final note: However, the Belvedere and Prowler burial cases are not the only ones in the world. In Spain there are some examples, which we will talk about in a future article that, as a second part of this article, will be published soon ...
