At long last, RoboCop statue takes its permanent home in Detroit

Dead or alive, he’s coming to Eastern Market.

OK, technically, the approximately 11-foot-tall bronze sculpture of RoboCop is neither dead nor alive. And technically, it’s not coming to Detroit’s Eastern Market area – it’s already there.

Jim Toscano, co-owner of Free Age video production studio, said the 3,500-pound tribute to the fictional Detroit crimefighter was secured in front of the business, at 3434 Russell St., Wednesday afternoon. It was immediately welcomed by locals.

“It was basically a snowstorm, freezing cold, and we still had a steady stream of people lining up to check it out,” Toscano said.

It’s been a long road to Russell Street for RoboCop. The project began in 2011 with a since-deleted tweet from a social media user in Massachusetts to then-Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: “@mayordavebing Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & RoboCop would kick Rocky’s butt. He’s a GREAT ambassador for Detroit.”

The idea caught the eye and imagination of Brandon Walley, board president of the community arts group Imagination Station. The group launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign that generated $67,436.

It took Detroit sculptor Giorgio Gikas three years to craft the statue, which was finally finished in 2017.

It wasn’t until 2022 that Walley and company secured a location for the statue, though the spot was kept secret until it was finally put in place Wednesday.

“(Walley) said, ‘We’re looking for a spot for the RoboCop statue, and you’re at the entrance of Eastern Market. It would be perfect,’” Toscano recalled. “At first I thought he was kidding … Three years later, here we are.”

Issues that held up the project included obtaining insurance and securing the rights for the character, who blasted his way onto the big screen in the 1987 Paul Verhoeven-directed sci-fi action classic set in a futuristic, dystopian Detroit.

The film went on to earn $53.4 million and spawned several sequels, two TV series, plus video games and a 2014 remake.

Toscano said he’s thrilled to have given the beloved character a permanent home.

“It means a lot,” he said. “We’re filmmakers and film fans and fans of pop culture, and people have worked so hard on this for so long.

“It’s something fun for Detroit.”