Oklahoma-Built Excellence: GM OKC exhibit opens

Oklahoma-Built Excellence: GM OKC, a new exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center Museum, will open to the public on Thursday, January 25. Using a timeline, archival newspaper prints, physical artifacts, photos, and informational signage, the exhibit aims to tell the story of the Oklahoma City General Motors plant and its employees.

Visitors will learn the history of the plant and its contribution to the economic growth of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma as a whole. At its peak, the Oklahoma City plant was estimated to provide 7,500 local jobs outside the plant, with an additional 2,600 jobs inside. The exhibit looks at the growth provided by General Motors in the metro area and what happened to its employees following its closure.

It will be located in the Curators’ Corner area of the Noble Gallery on the third floor of the Oklahoma History Center Museum.

Line workers from left, Greg Raymo, Herb Weldman, and John Berisko, check the electrical system on a 1982 Chevrolet Citation at the General Motors Assembly Division plant in southwest Oklahoma City.