Cabazon Dinosaurs
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| Cabazon Dinosaurs | |
 Dinny the Dinosaur, one of the two Cabazon Dinosaurs |
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| Building Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cabazon Dinosaurs |
| Location | Cabazon, California |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | |
| Architect | Claude K. Bell |
| Engineer | Gerald Hufstetler |
| Construction Start Date | 1964 (Dinny) / 1981 (Mr. Rex) |
| Completion Date | 1975 (Dinny) / 1986 (Mr. Rex) |
| Cost | $300,000 (Dinny) |
| Style | Novelty architecture |
Cabazon Dinosaurs, also referred to as Claude Bell's dinosaurs, are world famous, enormous, sculptured roadside attractions located in Cabazon, California and visible to the immediate north of Interstate 10. The site features Dinny the Dinosaur, a 150-ton, larger than life-sized sculpture of a Apatosaurus and Mr. Rex, a 100-ton Tyrannosaurus rex. Dinny (pronounced "Dine-ee") and Mr. Rex are at the Cabazon exit of Interstate 10, a short distance west of Palm Springs behind the Wheel Inn diner on Seminole Drive in San Gorgonio Pass.
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[edit] History
The Cabazon dinosaurs were started in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897-1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe which opened in 1958. Dinny, the first of the Cabazon dinosaurs, was started in 1964 and created over eleven years[1] out of spare material from the construction of nearby Interstate-10 at a cost of $300,000 (USD).[2] With the help of ironworker Gerald Hufstetler, Bell worked on the project independently, and no construction company or contractors were involved in the construction.
In 1981, Mr. Rex was constructed near Dinny. A giant slide was intended to be installed in Mr. Rex's tail, but this plan was eventually scrapped. Dinny's paint job was reputedly done by a friend of Bell's in exchange for one dollar and a case of Dr Pepper. A third woolly mammoth sculpture and a prehistoric garden were drafted, but never completed due to Bell's death.[3]
More than mere sculptures, Dinny and Mr. Rex are habitable buildings; the entrance to Dinny is located at the base of his tail.
[edit] Current status
The sculptures are currently owned by MKA Cabazon Partnership of Costa Mesa, which owns the property that the dinosaurs are located on. In 1996, the partnership obtained approval for a major expansion of the Cabazon dinosaur site. This proposal sought to lure five fast-food restaurants, a sit-down restaurant, a museum, and gift shop, and a 60-room motel to the north side of Interstate 10, at the Main Street exit in Cabazon. Gary Kanter said at the time that MKA hoped to eventually turn the area into a children's science park.[4]
The inside of Dinny, designed as a museum with alcoves and frescoes featuring naturalist and evolutionary content, has been recently turned into a creationist museum promoting intelligent design theory.[5] The Kanters intend to add a giant sand pit where kids would rummage for fossils, a center that would contrast creationism with evolution, a maze, and a replica of Noah’s Ark.[6]
[edit] In popular culture
Both Dinny and Mr. Rex can be briefly seen in the background of the Tears for Fears video for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", as well as in the motion pictures Pee-wee's Big Adventure and The Wizard.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Cabazon Dinosaurs | The Big Waste of Space Photologue
- ^ Valley Legends (4/26/1999), Desert Sun.
- ^ Bet you didn't know (11/9/2005), Desert Sun.
- ^ Cabazon expansion proposed (11/5/1996), Press Enterprise.
- ^ Bet you didn't know (11/9/2005), Desert Sun.
- ^ Adam, Eve and T. Rex (9/5/2005), Los Angeles Times.
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Roadside America
- Photos and additional information at The Big Waste of Space
- Adam, Eve and T. Rex Los Angeles Times article (27 August, 2005)
