Cabazon, CA - Say ain't so. For years, the wondrous dinosaurs have prowled
the grounds in Cabazon, delighting tourists and locals alike. Also known as Claude Bell's dinosaurs in reference to its creator, the Cabazon Dinosaurs feature Dinny the Dinosaur who is a 150-ton Apatosaurus and Mr. Rex who is a 100-ton Tyrannosaurus Re. However, with the death of the owner of the property, the site is in
danger of being razed over for a strip mall, with the fate of the dinosaurs
uncertain. Yes, that is an actual for sale sign here in front of the Brontosaurus. Please contact the Modern
Committee of the Los Angeles Conservancy for info on how to help save
these roadside legends. Many thanks to Adriene Biondo for alert.
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Traveling along Interstate 10 through Cabazon, keep an eye out for a couple of residents who make the passing trucks look rather small. The Cabazon Dinosaurs have been greeting motorists for decades, turning an ordinary drive toward Palm Springs into an encounter with the prehistoric roadside. Spotting them from the freeway is one thing. Standing underneath them gives the family car a whole new sense of scale.
Claude Bell began sculpting the dinosaurs in the 1960's as a roadside attraction for his Wheel Inn Restaurant next door. The site currently features a museum.
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
These giants began with Claude Bell, a sculptor who had worked at Knott’s Berry Farm and operated the nearby Wheel Inn restaurant. In 1964, Bell started building Dinny, the enormous long-necked dinosaur intended to attract hungry travelers. Apparently, a conventional restaurant sign wasn't quite enough.
Dinny took eleven years to complete. Built with a steel framework and concrete, the roughly 150-foot-long dinosaur became a building as well as an attraction. Visitors could step inside rather than simply pose beside the feet. Not every roadside dinosaur comes with an entrance.
Dino
Cabazon, CA Photo courtesy Ralph Squillace
Inside Dinny’s belly, the gift shop gives travelers a chance to take home something considerably smaller than the attraction outside. Dinosaur toys, T-shirts, and other souvenirs fill out the selection. For children who have spent the drive watching for the giants, shopping inside one adds a little more to the stop. Even without a purchase, there’s something memorable about saying the gift shop was inside the dinosaur.
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
One giant might have satisfied most restaurant owners, but Bell wasn't finished. Construction on Mr. Rex began in 1981 and continued until 1986. With his upright stance, little arms, and impressive collection of teeth, the Tyrannosaurus supplied a different sort of welcome. Dinny looked comfortable watching traffic. Mr. Rex looked as though he might have other plans for it.
The pair reached a much wider audience through Pee-wee’s Big Adventure in 1985. For movie fans, the dinosaurs became a destination in their own right, another stop to seek out while following Pee-wee’s memorable journey. They later appeared in The Wizard, adding another generation of viewers to their roadside following.
Dino
Cabazon, CA Photo courtesy Ralph Squillace
More recently, holiday paint jobs have given repeat visitors another reason to pull off the freeway. Christmas has brought a painted sweater look for Mr. Rex, while Easter colors have supplied a softer wardrobe for a fellow with so many teeth. These aren't small decorations hung around the entrance. The dinosaurs themselves become the displays, with their enormous bodies serving as canvases for seasonal makeovers. Quite a painting assignment, and a good excuse for another photograph even if the last visit wasn't all that long ago.
This dino stands guard just off the interstate in Cabazon. His
friend Dinnie is nearby.
Cabazon Dinosaur
Cabazon, CA Postcard image courtesy Wanda Mazur
Bell died in 1988, leaving behind an attraction that had grown well beyond its original job of advertising a meal. The dinosaurs became familiar markers for families, truck drivers, and desert travelers. Seeing them again meant another trip through the pass, perhaps with time to stop and introduce a younger passenger to the pair.
The Wheel Inn didn't share their long survival. The restaurant closed in 2013 and was later demolished. Its absence changed the scene around the dinosaurs, separating Bell’s oversized advertisements from the business that brought them into being.
UPDATE: The Cabazon Dinosaurs remain open, with Dinny’s gift shop and a dinosaur walk featuring more than 100 additional figures, along with a dino dig and gemstone and fossil panning. Seasonal colors keep giving the original giants fresh looks, but they remain unmistakable from the highway. Good to see these two haven't followed their restaurant into extinction. 10-26
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon Dinosaurs
