Long-awaited statue of legendary robotic hero unveiled

Detroit has finally welcomed its iconic protector, RoboCop, as a towering 11-foot (3.3-meter) statue now stands guard over the Motor City. The impressive 3,500-pound (1,587-kilogram) bronze-cast figure was erected on Wednesday afternoon, bolted into a concrete patio at the FREE AGE film production company.

Jim Toscano, co-owner of the company, observed the immediate public fascination. “It was snowstorm, dark and below 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-1.1 degree Celsius) and there was a steady stream of people driving by,” he stated, adding that visitors can “walk right up and walk all the way around it.”

This permanent fixture arrives almost four decades after the popular science fiction film RoboCop premiered in 1987, following a 15-year journey from concept to reality.

Set in what was supposed to be the near-future, it portrayed Detroit as crime-ridden and poorly protected by a beleaguered and outgunned police force, until actor Peter Weller appeared as a nearly invincible cyborg, created by a nefarious corporation that was bent on privatizing policing.

“RoboCop” developed a cult following, spawning two sequels and a reboot.

A statue campaign appears to have started around 2010 when Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was tagged in a tweet that noted Philadelphia’s statue of boxer Rocky Balboa and said RoboCop would be a “GREAT ambassador for Detroit.”

Bing tweeted back, saying there were no such plans. But some Detroiters ran with the idea, crowdfunding it through a 2012 Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $67,000 from more than 2,700 backers worldwide, and Detroit sculptor Giorgio Gikas finished the statue in 2017.

Then, it got stuck, stored away from public view.

The Michigan Science Center in Detroit ultimately nixed plans to host the sculpture in 2021, citing pressures from the coronavirus pandemic and the need to focus museum resources. Officials in Stevens Point, Wisconsin raised their hands, hoping to honor Weller, a native son of that city, by erecting it outside the police station or in a park.

The search for a suitable home for RoboCop remained in limbo until about three years ago when Toscano’s FREE AGE bought its building in Eastern Market, an open-air shopping and entertainment district just northeast of downtown. Toscano says he thought they were “kidding” when he was contacted by the creator of the statue idea and Eastern Market officials. But he and his business partner gladly came on board: “It’s too unusual, too unique, too cool not to do,” Toscano said.

There was a time when Detroit pushed back on anything pointing to its past reputation as an unsafe city. But things have changed. Violent crime has been trending down for years. Homicide numbers have dropped below mid-1960s levels. Toscano said there were no objections from city officials.

“I think there will be a lot more acceptance,” Toscano said. “Detroit has come a long way. You put in a little nostalgia and that helps.”

Toscano, 48, says he’s only viewed the first “RoboCop” movie.

“It wasn’t a big film in our house,” he admitted. But if there is one iconic line uttered by RoboCop that fits this moment, Toscano said it would be “Thank you for your cooperation.”