Santa Rita No. 1, Austin

This oil rig, with the name of Santa Rita, the saint of the impossible, is almost the patron saint of the University of Texas, or at least of the university’s exchequer.

The rig was in the business of pumping oil for 19 years, beginning in 1923 when an oil well in West Texas finally blew in, justifying the faith of a group of investors who gave the claim the name. Oil royalties have been flowing into the Permanent University Fund ever since, and the derrick has been standing on the corner as a memorial, set in motion only for state occasions.

Location: Corner of Martin Luther King and Trinity Street on the University of Texas campus

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