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Creston Dinosaur
Creston, SD |
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The Creston Dinosaur may have been the earliest roadside dinosaur ever built. It was made with scrap metal, wood and concrete in 1933. It was designed to stop traffic for the Creston General Store which no longer exists. The dinosaur stands 20 feet high and is 60 feet long. Over the years, it fell into serious disrepair with exposed framework and graffiti. In 1998, it was restored by students from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. They saved what they could but had to build a new neck, back and feet. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
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Rapid City Dinosaur Park
Rapid City, SD |
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The Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, SD was created in 1936 with WPA funding. Emmett A. Sullivan took the idea of the Creston Dinosaur (see above) and, with consultation from South Dakota Natural History buffs, made five life-sized concrete statues which were accurate for the time. Originally, the dinosaurs were grey but today they are painted bright green.
The original five statues consist of: a Brontosaurus (80 feet long, 28 feet high), Tracodon (33 feet long, 17 feet 6 inches high), a Stegosaurus (11 feet long, 7 feet high), a Tyrannosaurus Rex (35 feet long, 16 feet high), and a Triceratops (27 feet long, 11 feet high). At some point, two smaller statues were added across the street at the gift shop: a Protoceatos and a Dimetrodon (bottom row above). Today, the dinosaurs are lit up until 10 pm during tourist season. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.
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Wall Drug Dinosaur
Wall, SD |
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The Wall Drug Dinosaur was created sometime before 1964. It was installed next to I-90 to attract business for Wall Drug which is located downtown. The dinosaur is an 80 foot long Brontosaurus with red eyes that light up at night. It was designed and built by the same guy that built the Rapid City dinosaurs (see above).
Wall Drug's history goes back to 1931 when Ted Hustead bought the drug store. After nearly five years of poor business, his wife inspired him to follow the lead of Burma Shave's sequential highway signs. Tourists came in droves and Wall Drug began adding other attractions. In the 1960s, anti-sign legislation was passed and Hustead countered with the construction of this giant dinosaur.
Over the years, the attractions at Wall Drug have included an animated Cowboy Orchestra and life-sized carvings of famous people. Today, the place is a 75,000 square foot emporium of Western kitsch with clothing, art, a restaurant, chapel, pharmacy museum, rock shop, souvenir shop and pharmacy. It is run by two of Hustead's grandsons and attracts two million visitors annually. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
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