Why this brand-new Plymouth Belvedere was buried in Oklahoma for 50 years as part of a bizarre stunt

Back in the 1950s, a brand-new Plymouth Belvedere was buried in Oklahoma as part of an unusual publicity stunt for the town of Tulsa.

The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere, nicknamed Miss Belvedere, was used as part of a time capsule.

The then-brand-new car was buried beneath the grounds of the Tulsa City Courthouse in June 1957.

After spending 50 years underground, the car was finally unearthed in 2007.

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Why the Plymouth Belvedere was buried in Oklahoma for half a century

Oklahoma turned 50 during the 1950s, and residents of the city of Tulsa wanted to mark the occasion, so they came up with the ‘Tulsarama Golden Jubilee’.

Sounds fancy, doesn’t it?

As part of the celebrations, officials decided to offer a brand-new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere as a prize in a competition.

But, like many things in life, there was a catch. 

The car would be given to whoever came closest to guessing the population of Tulsa in 2007. 

Of course, to know who came closest, the prize could only be awarded in 2007. 

So, in the meantime, the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was buried in Oklahoma inside a time capsule to be opened half a century later. 

Officials made a big effort to ensure the car looked as good in 2007 as it did in 1957 and encased it in a specially designed concrete sealed vault that was reportedly strong enough to survive a nuclear attack.

However, despite their best efforts, the poor old Plymouth didn’t fare too well underground. 

On Tulsa’s centennial in 2007, the Plymouth Belvedere was hauled up out of the ground and presented to the public the following day. 

But the celebration was short-lived as it soon became apparent that water had somehow made its way into the nuclear-attack-proof underground vault. Oh dear. 

The poor old Plymouth was sent off to a rust removal shop, ahead of a planned restoration, but the car was so damaged that the whole idea was scrapped. 

Thankfully, a new home for Miss Belvedere was eventually found. The car now resides at the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, Illinois.

Here’s hoping it serves as a cautionary tale about ever burying a car underground again – but perhaps not, as there’s currently a 1998 Plymouth Prowler buried in Oklahoma that won’t be dug up until 2048.

It’s not the only car to end up inside a makeshift tomb

Believe it or not, officials in Tulsa weren’t the only folks to think entombing a car for an extended period was a good idea. 

Maine businessman Richard Sampson, who owned a string of supermarkets, decided to stash his 1954 Corvette behind a brick wall inside one of his stores. 

At the time he was building a handful of new stores and thought one of them could be the ideal place to keep the ‘Vette until the year 2000. 

So, the car was encased inside a space behind the wall, with a small viewing window allowing Richard to keep an eye on it. 

However, shortly before his death in 1969, Richard removed the car from behind the wall and it eventually ended up with his daughter.

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