Cabazon Dinosaurs
Architectural styleNovelty architecture
Cost$300,000 (Dinny)
Location townCabazon, California
Location countryUnited States
Coordinates33°55′13″N 116°46′22″W
Construction start date1964 (Dinny) / 1981 (Mr. Rex)
Completion date1975 (Dinny) / 1986 (Mr. Rex)
ArchitectClaude K. Bell
Structural engineerGerald Hufstetler

Cabazon Dinosaurs, formerly Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, is a roadside attraction in Cabazon, California, featuring two enormous, steel-and-concrete dinosaurs named Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex. Located just west of Palm Springs, California, the 150-foot-long (46 m) Brontosaurus and the 65-foot-tall (20 m) Tyrannosaurus rex are visible from the freeway to travelers passing by on Southern California's Interstate 10.[1][2] The roadside dinosaurs are best known for their appearance in the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985).[3]

Sculptor and theme park artist Claude Bell began construction of the dinosaurs in 1964 with the goal of attracting more customers to his nearby restaurant, the Wheel Inn (open from 1958 to 2013). Dinny and Mr. Rex were completed in 1975 and 1986, respectively.[4] Bell died in 1988 at age 91 and his family sold the property in the mid-1990s.[5] The new ownership turned the attraction into a roadside creationist museum in 2005, but creationist material has since been removed.[6][7]

Background

Claude K. Bell (1896–1988) began his artistic career as a teenager, sculpting teddy bears in the sand on the beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a wooden building that was shaped like an elephant. Tips from passersby encouraged him, and before long, he was making a living with his sand sculptures at state and county fairs across the country.[8]: 71[9]

In 1947, Walter Knott hired him to create concrete sculptures of figures sitting on the benches at Knott's Berry Farm.[8]: 71–75[9] Bell also operated the portrait studio at Knott's from 1951 to 1986.[9] He, his wife, and his daughter, Wendy, all worked there creating portraits of guests.[10]

The site of the dinosaurs was purchased by Claude Bell in 1946 for $5,000 (). The land was leveled for him free of charge, as part of an agreement to let the state remove the gravel for the development of an overpass on the freeway.[11] Bell began living part-time on the land in 1952, and opened the Wheel Inn there in 1958.[11][12][13]

Construction

Bell began construction of his first dinosaur, Dinny the Brontosaurus, in 1964.[11] He took inspiration from a childhood visit to the Atlantic City Boardwalk, where he saw Lucy the Elephant: "From then on I decided someday I would build something big like that elephant house."[14] Steel and cement for the project were salvaged from the freeway, after a flash flood rendered them unusable for official state construction. Bell was allowed to remove the materials in exchange for clearing them from state property.[11]

The biomorphic building was first erected as steel framework over which an expanded metal grid was formed in the shape of a dinosaur.[15] Bell worked with engineer Ralph Titus to weld steel girders into the "ribs" of the dinosaur and then to wrap the structure with wire to form the shape of the skin. According to Bell, "Everything is shaped in wire — wrinkles in the neck, muscles in the legs." The wire was then sprayed with coats of shotcrete.[14]

Bell was quoted in 1970 as saying the 45-foot (14-metre), 150-foot (46-metre) Dinny was "the first dinosaur in history, so far as I know, to be used as a building."[14][16] His original vision for Dinny was for the dinosaur's eyes to glow and mouth to spit fire at night, predicting, "It'll scare the dickens out of a lot of people driving up over the pass."[14][16] These two features, however, were not added.

Dinny was completed in 1975.[17] At the time, the total cost of the project was estimated to be over $100,000 ().[17] In 1986 Bell gave an estimated cost of $250,000 ().[11] A 1999 article cited a cost of $300,000 ()[12]

Bell had plans to construct a second dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus rex, as early as 1970. "It's taken so long for this first one," he said, "because Ralph and I had to make our own special machinery – steel benders, an elevator out of an old truck, stuff like that--to get started. From here on it will be smooth sailing. We'll have our second dinosaur up and finished a year after the first one's completed."[14] Scaffolding for the second sculpture could be seen to the north of Dinny by November 1980.[18] A year later, the structure and wire frame were complete and ready for cement.[19] The Tyrannosaurus sculpture was designed with a channel in the tail, so as to incorporate a slide. However, by 1986, Bell was concerned the incline would be too steep to use safely.[11]

A third woolly mammoth sculpture and a prehistoric garden were drafted but never completed due to Bell's death in 1988.[20][21]

Creationist museum

Following Bell's death, his wife Anna Marie sought to fulfill his goal of developing an amusement park.[22] In 1992, plans were announced for a 60-acre attraction called Dinosaur Village, featuring 12 animated dinosaurs in addition to the existing sculptures. Other amenities were to include an arcade, children's rides, and a theater for simulator ride programming.[23] However, these plans failed to materialize, and by 1995 the property had been purchased by Gary Kanter of Minkoff and Kanter Associates.[22]

MKA Partnership obtained approval for an expansion of the Cabazon dinosaur site in 1996, including land-use approvals for restaurants, a museum, a gift shop, and a 60-room motel at the Main Street exit in Cabazon. Orange County developer and MKA partner Gary Kanter said the original vision has been for MKA to transform the area into a children's science museum.[24]

In December 2004, Kanter's wife Denise posted to the website Revolution Against Evolution, announcing plans to build a museum at the site to promote young Earth creationism.[25] Plans for the museum called for a replica of Noah's Ark, a maze, a giant sand pit, and an exhibit presenting arguments for and against evolution. The Kanters and pastor Robert Darwin Chiles hoped to emulate the Museum of Creation and Earth History, which falsely equates Darwinism with communism, Nazism, and racism.[6]

By 2005, the gift store inside Dinney had begun selling toy dinosaurs labeled "Don't swallow it! The fossil record does not support evolution," and T-shirts reading "By Design and Not By Chance."[6] Visiting the site in 2008, creationism critic Troy Britain reported the installation of new dinosaur sculptures, as well as signage promoting creationist talking points.[26] Bell's frescoes depicting human evolution were left intact, despite inscriptions that are incompatible with the young Earth time scale (e.g., "Peking Man 200,000 [years ago]").[11] However, posters were put up stating creationist claims that dispute the validity of archaic human fossils.[26]

The Cabazon Dinosaurs attraction also features an open-air museum with fiberglass and robotic dinosaurs. Other activities at the site include a sand pit where visitors can experience a "dino dig"[27] as well as a gemstone and fossil-panning sluice.

Since 2017, visitors to the site have reported that the creationist material has been removed from the attraction.[28][29][30][31] Despite these changes, the Kanters continued to own and operate the site as of 2021.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ Yanez, Laura (October 1, 2013). "Landmark Wheel Inn Restaurant Closes at Cabazon Dinosaurs". KESQ-TV. Gulf-California Broadcast Company. Archived November 19, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Love is in the air at Cabazon Dinosaurs as Valentine’s Day nears". Press Enterprise. 2026-02-10. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  3. ^ Taete, Jamie Lee (September 4, 2013). "Pee-Wee Herman's Dinosaurs Are Actually a Creationist Museum". Vice. Archived April 24, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Garcia, Catherine (March 15, 2011). "Dinosaurs Keep Watch Over Cabazon". Patch. Archived April 25, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Morton, Ella (November 12, 2013). "Pee-Wee's Big, Adventurous, 6,000-Year-Old Dinosaurs". Slate. Archived November 12, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Powers, Ashley (August 27, 2005). "Adam, Eve and T. Rex: Giant Roadside Dinosaur Attractions Are Used by a New Breed of Creationists as Pulpits to Spread Their Version of Earth's Origins". Los Angeles Times. p. A-1. Archived December 2, 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "Cabazon Dinosaurs". Atlas Obscura. Archived June 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Knott's Preserved: From Boysenbery to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm. Angel City Press. 2015. ISBN 978-1-62640-085-6.
  9. ^ Cervantes, Catheryn (June 10, 2021). "The Iconic Bench Sculptures That Adorn Knott's Berry Farm". Knotts.com. Archived September 25, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "Claude K. Bell; He Described Himself as a 'Nut on Dinosaurs'". Los Angeles Times. 1988-09-21. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  11. ^ Eberts, Mike (January 23, 1986). "Dinosaur Garden Blooms in Desert: At 89, Claude Bell Has Even More Beasts Up His Sleeve". Los Angeles Times. Archived July 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  12. ^ "Valley Legends: Claude K. Bell (1897-1988)". The Desert Sun. April 26, 1999. p. A2. Retrieved July 3, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  13. ^ Pratte, Bob (September 12, 2015). "Cabazon's Wheel Inn Gets Stay of Demolition". The Press-Enterprise. Archived October 4, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  14. ^ Hillinger, Charles (March 23, 1970). "Cabazon Monster Maker Just Beginning". Los Angeles Times. pp. II-1, II-5. Retrieved July 3, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  15. ^ Feuerstein, Günther (2002). Biomorphic Architecture: Menschen- und Tiergestalten in der Architektur, Volume 1. Edition Axel Menges. p. 117. ISBN 3-930698-87-0.
  16. ^ "Cement Brontosaurus Just Beginning". The Register-Guard. Associated Press. April 12, 1970. p. 10A. Retrieved July 3, 2023. – via Google Newspapers.
  17. ^ Harris, Roy J., Jr. (August 7, 1975). "Desert Dinosaur Artist's Dream". The Pocono Record. Dow Jones-Ottaway News. p. 22. Retrieved July 4, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  18. ^ "Dinney Gets His Ears". The Desert Sun. November 26, 1980. p. A10. Retrieved July 4, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  19. ^ "Beastly Traffic Stoppers". Santa Maria Times. December 10, 1981. p. 30. Retrieved July 4, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  20. ^ "Desert Dinos Are Sculptor's Labor of Love". The Desert Sun. November 9, 2005. p. D1. Retrieved July 3, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  21. ^ "Cabazon Dinosaur Builder Dies of Pneumonia at 91". The San Bernardino County Sun. September 21, 1988. Retrieved July 4, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  22. ^ "The Cabazon Dinosaurs Will Live On". The Desert Sun. September 5, 1995. pp. A1, A4. Retrieved July 1, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  23. ^ "Rex and Recreation for Local Children: Developers Plan Mammoth Dinosaur Park in Cabazon". The Desert Sun. March 13, 1992. p. A1. Retrieved July 1, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  24. ^ "Cabazon Expansion Proposed". Press Enterprise. November 5, 1996.
  25. ^ "Famous Dinosaurs to Debunk Evolution". Revolution Against Evolution. December 27, 2004. Archived February 9, 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Dinny the Dinosaur, a Fond Childhood Memory Defiled". Playing Chess With Pigeons. April 7, 2008. Archived March 22, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  27. ^ Judith Salkin (June 28, 2008). "Dinosaurs Draw People From All Over". The Desert Sun
  28. ^ "The Prehistoric Times Magazine - Did Any of You Know That the Cabazon Dinosaurs Is Not a Creation Museum Anymore". Facebook. June 27, 2017. Archived July 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023. Did any of you know that the Cabazon Dinosaurs is not a creation museum anymore? I went there today and was pleasantly surprised to see that there wasn't a single religious sentiment of any kind.
  29. ^ Allison D (July 28, 2017). "Is This Place Going Somewhere?". Tripadvisor. Archived July 2, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023. Yes, the creationist stuff is mostly gone now, but so is the iconic diner from the movie. Many of the exhibits are rearranged to the point that most of the cool pieces are crammed into the gift shop, and even most of the fun trinkets (and controversial books) are gone.
  30. ^ "Cabazon Dinosaurs". Weird Nevada. July 4, 2021. Archived December 1, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2023. So it looks like the religious elements of the dinosaurs have been stripped and removed from the attraction, returning it to the kitschy roadside attraction that it was, celebrating dinosaurs and all their large dinosaur goodness. Prior, the religious elements were pretty blatant and very obvious, but now there are no obvious signs that they ever existed.
  31. ^ "Cabazon Dinosaurs". Dino Dad Reviews. October 8, 2021. Archived March 21, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023. The property was later sold to a creationist group, who encircled Mr. Rex with a small, admission-only dinosaur park called the "Dinosaur Walk" which included a bunch of mass produced sculptures and animatronics. While the creationist aspects have since been removed, paying to enter the dino park is still the only way to access the stairway up into Mr. Rex.
  32. ^ "Cannabis Shop Approved for Site Next to Cabazon Dinosaur Statues; Park Owner Not Happy". The Desert Sun. November 17, 2021. Archived September 29, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  33. ^ "Famous Movie Locations: Wheel Inn Restaurant From 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' (Cabazon, California)". Moviefone. August 10, 2010. Archived October 18, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  34. ^ August 03, Emlyn Travis & EDT, 2023 at 11:35 AM. "'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' Dinosaur Gets Makeover in Honor of Paul Reubens". EW.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  35. ^ "The Wizard". Rob On Location. July 14, 2021. Archived March 31, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  36. ^ Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Music video). Tears for Fears. 1985. pp. 2:02. Retrieved July 2, 2023. – via YouTube.
  37. ^ Motortown (Music video). The Kane Gang Official. 1987. pp. 1:52. Retrieved July 3, 2023. – via YouTube.
  38. ^ Raining (Music video). Susanna Hoffs. September 17, 2013. pp. 0:46. Archived December 21, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. – via YouTube.
  39. ^ Howser, Huell (October 28, 1999). "Hadley's and Dinosaurs – Visiting (714)". Huell Howser Archive. Chapman University. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  40. ^ "5 Awesome Appearances of the California Dinosaurs". Laser Time. October 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.