Miss America Statues at Oklahoma City University — Roadside & Outdoor Oddities in Oklahoma City

Entry No. 51 — the Oklahoma City file — filed under: bronze-statues

Miss America Statues at Oklahoma City University

“you can't win Miss America and not cry”

Three life-sized bronze Miss Americas — Jane Jayroe (1967), Susan Powell (1981), and Shawntel Smith (1996) — stand in gowns, heels, and crowns in Kerr-McGee Centennial Plaza on the corner of a working university campus, each eternally cradling a winner's bouquet. Sculptor Shan Gray gave every one of them a tiny bronze tear rolling down her cheek, because, as he put it, you can't win Miss America and not cry. The plaza has room for up to seven more statues — OCU treats winning Miss America less like a fluke and more like a department offering — and honoree Jane Jayroe herself admitted there's something about being frozen in time that's "just kind of weird." Most people drive this corner a hundred times without ever clocking what's standing there; it reads as decorative campus bronze until you notice the tears.

The move: Walk the corner at NW 23rd and N. Blackwelder in the evening when the campus quiets down, find the tear on each statue's cheek, then slip half a block north into the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center to see the Hall of Queens — OCU's shrine to every alumna who competed but didn't win.

📍 Before you go The statues sit right on the public corner of NW 23rd and N. Blackwelder, at the edge of OCU's campus, so you can walk up from the sidewalk without entering a building or paying anything. Campus lots need permits, so plan on street parking nearby. Evenings are quietest, but daylight makes it easier to spot each bronze tear up close; watch for playoff season and the holidays, when students sometimes dress the statues in Thunder shirts or Santa hats. The Hall of Queens is indoors a half-block north in the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center, so check that it's open before counting on it. Pair the stop with the nearby Paseo Arts District or Uptown 23rd.

Where: NW 23rd St & N Blackwelder Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73106

Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.

#bronze-statues #roadside-oddity #campus-art #pageant-history #free #public-art

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · Official site · route66roadmap.com

last checked: 2026-06-09