Happy 50th birthday, owl!

The stone owl statue that greets visitors to Allen Center turned 50 this year, and its sculptor, former Houstonian Anny Coury, stopped by to wish it a “happy birthday” March 31 while she was in Houston to attend the American Association of Petroleum Geologists conference, where she was honored as one of the influential women in petroleum geology. Now 87 and a resident of Denver, Coury said the owl has “gotten a lot smoother through the years,” and she attributed that to students petting his front side. “It’s a he,” she said, “and if you don’t believe me, lift him up and look underneath.” (The sculpture weighs more than a ton.)

It took two years for Coury to sculpt the owl out of Indiana limestone at a local stone yard. Because the university’s mascot is an owl, a builder for Rice who saw the statue when it was half-finished asked Coury how much she would sell the completed owl for. She charged $1,500 because that’s how much she needed for boat tickets to move her family to her native country of France. Coury revealed that she had originally engraved “1967” on the side of the sculpture to note the year of completion, but she came back years later and borrowed a hammer and chisel from a crew working in front of Allen Center so she could add a mark across the “7” as a tribute to her French heritage. (In France, 7 is crossed to distinguish it from 1.)

During her visit to Rice, Coury received two surprises: Her daughter and granddaughter, also from Denver, had secretly flown to Houston to decorate the owl with a party hat and balloons and greet her upon arrival at Allen Center; and Director of Rice Public Art Evan Garza presented Coury with a letter of commendation from President David Leebron in commemoration of 50 years of her work on view in the lobby of the Allen Center. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow)