Metropolis is also the home to a seven foot tall fiberglass statue of Superman. The statue was erected in 1986, after a small group of locals put together about $1000 to do it.
Metropolis' association with Superman began in the early 70s, when Robert Westerfield moved to Metropolis from Owensboro, KY. Surprised that the town had no formal association with Superman, he spearheaded the movement to officially "adopt" Superman.
In 1973, a museum dedicated to all things Superman, The Amazing World of Superman was built. Unfortunately, due to a gasoline shortage at that time, long delays in the completion of Interstate 24, and other factors, the museum closed a year later. All of the merchanside and fixtures were auctioned off. The Superman association was pretty much abandoned until 1979, when the first Superman movie came out. As Metropolis was getting indundated with telephone calls about Superman, they hit upon the idea of the annual Superman Celebration.