Detroit Finally Gets RoboCop Statue After 14-Year Journey

Detroit unveiled an 11-foot bronze RoboCop statue Wednesday after nearly 15 years of development. The 2.5-ton sculpture depicts Peter Weller’s character from the 1987 film and now stands outside Free Age Production Studio in Eastern Market. “I love it,” studio owner Jim Toscano told MLive. “It looks great, it’s super impressive and it has already brought a lot of nice people around.” The project began in 2011 when then-Mayor Dave Bing responded to a tweet about erecting a RoboCop statue, saying there were “no plans” for such artwork. This sparked a fan campaign led by Brandon Walley of Imagination Station and Jerry Paffendorf of Loveland Technologies, who raised $67,436 through Kickstarter. Detroit sculptor Giorgio Gikas completed the statue in 2017, but legal clearance issues with MGM delayed installation. Walley says plans are underway for an official ceremony. (Story URL)

PHONE TOPIC: Which character deserves to have a statue in our city?