W.P. "Bill" Atkinson statue - Midwest City, OK
Posted by: Max and 99
N 35° 26.174 W 097° 24.015
14S E 645207 N 3922596
In the 1950's, each home he built came with a Shetland Pony
Waymark Code: WMZ17R
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/24/2018
Views: 1
Located at Charles J. Johnson Central Park, this statue of Bill Atkinson is a lovely addition to this little area in the middle of a shopping center. This lifesize artwork is created from bronze and stands on a 3 foot tall concrete foundation. Bill is wearing a business suit and shoes (photo in gallery shoes close-ups of outfit). The Shetland Pony stands to Bill's right, with the height of the horse at Bill's chest. He holds the reigns in both hands, with the coiled part secured in his left hand.
(bio is portions from wiki and Ann Defrange's article, link below)
W.P. Atkinson is well known as a real estate developer, newspaper publisher, and "The father of Midwest City". When the federal government was looking for an area in the SW for an Army Air Corp installation (1941), Bill's expertise in development sent him on a course to buy property to build houses on, then later he worked on building a city to support the community around the base.
Artist of sculpture: John David Rule
Another article on this real-estate developer:
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visit link)
Ann Defrange's article about Atkinson from NewsOK:
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visit link)
wiki article about W.P. "Bill" Atkinson and MWC:
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visit link)