Cabazon DinosaursClaude Bell (1897-1988)
Extant
50770 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, California, 92230, United States
1964 to 1981
The park is open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 6:30pm and Friday to Sunday from 9am to 8pm. Admission is $13 for adults, $11 for children, and $10 for seniors and military. Ticket purchases are made on site.
About the Artist/Site
In 1964, Claude Bell, a former sculptor at Knott’s Berry Farm theme park, began building Dinny, an enormous apatosaurus intended to attract diners to his restaurant the Wheel Inn. The 45-foot-high sculpture was created from concrete and steel salvaged from a nearby construction site and took 11 years to build. The next dinosaur, a T. rex named Mr. Rex, was begun in 1981 and completed in 1986. The dinosaurs are best known for their appearance in the 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
There were plans for additional sculptures and a garden; however, they were not completed due to Bell’s death in 1988. Bell’s family sold the property in the mid-1990s. The interior of Dinny has since been converted into a gift shop and museum dedicated to Young Earth Creationism.
Sources:
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-aug-27-me-dinosaurs27-story.html
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/vdpg7y/pee-wee-hermans-dinosaurs-are-actually-a-creationist-museum
- http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/11/12/the_cabazon_dinosaurs_of_pee_wee_s_big_adventure_have_converted_to_creationism.html
- https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2031
- https://everywhereist.com/2014/02/the-cabazon-dinosaurs-and-young-earth-creationist-museum-cabazon-california/
Contributors
Materials
concrete, steel, shotcrete
SPACES Archives Holdings
1 folder: clippings, images, 35mm slides
Map & Site Information
50770 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, California, 92230
us
Latitude/Longitude: 33.9207474 / -116.77294
Nearby Environments
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