Detroit has finally welcomed its iconic protector, RoboCop, as an 11-foot (3.3-metre) bronze statue was unveiled on Wednesday. The 3,500-pound (1,587-kilogram) figure now stands guard outside the FREE AGE film production company in the Eastern Market district.
The statue's journey began in 2010 when a Twitter user suggested to then-Mayor Dave Bing that a RoboCop statue would be a great ambassador for Detroit. Bing dismissed the idea, but a Kickstarter campaign raised over $67,000 from more than 2,700 backers in 2012. Sculptor Giorgio Gikas completed the statue in 2017.
Finding a permanent home proved difficult. The Michigan Science Center declined to host it in 2021 due to the pandemic, and officials in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, offered to place it there to honour actor Peter Weller, a native of the city. Eventually, FREE AGE co-owner Jim Toscano agreed to host the statue at his company's site.
Toscano noted the immediate public interest despite a snowstorm and sub-zero temperatures. “There was a steady stream of people driving by,” he said. The statue is accessible to visitors who can “walk right up and walk all the way around it.”
The unveiling comes almost 40 years after the original 1987 film, which depicted a crime-ridden Detroit and a cyborg police officer. The film developed a cult following and spawned sequels and a reboot. Toscano said there were no objections from city officials, reflecting Detroit's improved image: “Detroit has come a long way. You put in a little nostalgia and that helps.”
