Wild Dinosaur Simulator: Jurassic Age instal

Now over 50 years old, pose significant preservation and interpretive challenges: maintenance of life-size sculptures, the juxtaposition of roadside kitsch along scientific inquiry, and the continuing debate between evolution and creationism. Yet Rex and Bronto, Texas State Parks’ most anomalous “residents,” pose significant preservation and interpretive challenges: the maintenance of life-size ancient beasts now historic in their own right, the juxtaposition of scientific inquiry along roadside kitsch, and the continuing debate between evolution and creationism.īronto and Rex welcome visitors. It is rather fitting that two dinosaurs purchased with oil money welcome motoring tourists to Dinosaur Valley State Park. Texas Governor Preston Smith helped secure a Tyrannosaurus rex and Brontosaurus the pair arrived via a 40-foot-long trailer truck in July 1970. Local officials, recalling Dinoland’s post-World’s Fair national tour, wished to acquire the dinosaurs for their new state park. Shortly thereafter, a merger between Sinclair Oil and the Atlantic Richfield Company retired the former’s famous trademark, an act that presented Glen Rose with a unique opportunity. A desire for tourist dollars helped ensure the dinosaur tracks received protection and remained publicly accessible, ultimately resulting in the creation of Dinosaur Valley State Park in 1968. Scientific study came with the New Deal, when a statewide Work Projects Administration paleontology survey sponsored excavation for museum exhibits. During the Good Roads Movement of the 1920s, intrepid out-of-towners hunted for the tracks in riverbeds and overgrown foliage. The discovery of fossilized tracks on private land near Glen Rose, Texas, in the early 20th century captivated local imaginations. Inspired by the company’s well-known green brontosaurus logo, men, women, and children by the thousands visited Dinoland.Ī public fascination with dinosaurs has spurred countless roadside attractions featuring evidence of the creatures throughout the United States. Yet one of its most popular attractions was Sinclair Oil’s Dinoland, a life-size display of ancient reptiles. The 1964 New York World’s Fair wowed visitors with dazzling displays of technology and industry promising a bright future.

CarpenterTexas Parks and Wildlife Department, Historic Sites and Structures Program, Texas State Parks Abstract

Rex Tracks: Sinclair Oil’s Dinoland and Dinosaur Valley State Park Watch a non-audio described version of the presentation on YouTube. Article from the proceedings from Are We There Yet? Preserving Roadside Architecture and Attractions, April 10-12, 2018, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Wild Dinosaur Simulator: Jurassic Age instal