20-660: Dinosaur Park is a dinosaur park in Rapid City, South Dakota , United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore . Constructed by the City of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration , WPA Project #960's dinosaurs were designed by Emmet Sullivan . Sullivan also designed
40-471: A dinosaur-themed attraction seemed a natural choice. The park was dedicated on May 22, 1936. Barnum Brown was the paleontological consultant and provided the descriptions and measurements for each replicated fossil; and Emmet Sullivan , who had previously designed other dinosaur parks, was hired as the chief sculptor and designer. Aided by the Works Progress Administration, who supplemented
60-473: A distinctive double root ), and its describer, Joseph Leidy , came to recognize the difference and suggested limiting the genus to what would now be seen as ceratopsid teeth. Restricted to the duckbill teeth, it may have been a lambeosaurine . In 1856, Joseph Leidy received fragmentary remains from the Judith River Formation, collected by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden . From these bones, he provided
80-517: Is a dubious genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur based on teeth from the Campanian -age Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana , U.S. It is a historically important genus with a convoluted taxonomy that has been all but abandoned by modern dinosaur paleontologists . Despite being used for decades as the iconic duckbill dinosaur, the material it is based on is composed of teeth from both duckbills and ceratopsids (their teeth have
100-533: Is scheduled to be completed in mid-2024. Dinosaurs represented in the park include Apatosaurus , Tyrannosaurus rex , Triceratops , Stegosaurus , and an Edmontosaurus annectens . A Protoceratops and a Dimetrodon were added later on and are located near the gift shop and parking lot. With the exception of the Protoceratops , the selected dinosaurs were based on fossils found in South Dakota and
120-497: Is the Apatosaurus , which stands at 28 feet (8.5 m) high and 80 feet (24 m) long; it is visible from much of Rapid City. Originally, the dinosaurs were gray in color, but by the 1950s the statues had been painted bright green with white undersides. The T. rex's original finger claws, as well as its teeth, have been lost or damaged over the years. Vintage postcards of the T. rex do in fact show these were originally part of
140-761: The Apatosaurus at Wall Drug nearby in Wall, South Dakota ; the Christ of the Ozarks statue in Eureka Springs, Arkansas ; and the dinosaurs at the now-closed Dinosaur World in Beaver, Arkansas . The park is located at 940 Skyline Drive and is maintained by the City of Rapid City. Admission is free. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1990. In
160-549: The 1920s and 1930s, Rapid City was looking to capitalize on the growing tourist traffic into the Black Hills, primarily at Mount Rushmore. Additionally, Rapid City was experiencing a population boom due to the establishment of nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base . The Great Depression added an extra incentive for the city to increase profits. Such a construction project would also allow the local government to apply for federal funding, as well as promote local jobs and commerce. In 1935,
180-516: The Rapid City Chamber of Commerce planned to build Dinosaur Park. Some sources credit South Dakota School of Mines and Technology paleontologist C. C. O'Harra for the idea; others suggest the idea was that of R. L. Bronson, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, who had seen a mechanical Brontosaurus sculpture during a tip to Chicago . As prehistoric fossils had long been found in the Black Hills,
200-512: The Western United States. The dinosaurs were constructed out of 2-inch-wide (5.1 cm) black iron pipe under a wire mesh frame and a concrete skin. Being constructed in the 1930s, the dinosaurs reflect the thinking of the times. This includes dragging tails; three fingers on the T. rex as opposed to two; the dimensions; and the naming of the E. annectens sculpture as the now-outdated classification Trachodon . The largest sculpture
220-473: The costs and helped with engineering, construction began shortly after. As many as 25 workers were constructing the park at any given time. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration sponsored the construction of Skyline Drive, which would provide access to the park. Due to a dispute between Sullivan and the WPA over the dinosaur teeth—Sullivan retired from the project in 1937 and the new foreman disagreed with him over
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#1732851478701240-456: The first names for North American dinosaurs: Deinodon , Palaeoscincus , Trachodon , and Troodon (then spelled Troödon ). The type species of Trachodon is T. mirabilis . The generic name is derived from Greek τραχυς, trakhys , "rough", and όδον, odon , "tooth", referring to the granulate inner surface of one of the teeth. The specific name means "marvelous" in Latin . Trachodon
260-442: The installation method for the T. Rex sculpture's teeth—construction was not finished until 1938. In total, the park cost $ 25,000 to complete. The site also included a log gazebo, which has since disappeared. Additionally, fossilized dinosaur footprints that had been found in the area were planned to be moved to the park, but this apparently was never completed. Grants in the 1960s allowed the park to be updated. The city refurbished
280-495: The sculpture. The Stegosaurus also had a shorter tail with 4 correct tail spikes, but the tail spikes were removed and the tail itself considerably lengthened. Dinosaur Park is the subject of the song "Dinosaur Park" from Owl City 's 2023 album Coco Moon . List of dinosaur parks A dinosaur park usually refers to a theme park in which several life-size sculptures or models of prehistoric animals, especially dinosaurs are displayed. The first dinosaur park worldwide
300-459: The sculptures, walkways, and landscaping, and added a larger parking lot and a new concession and gift shop. On June 21, 1990, the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Only the original five sculptures were listed on the register. As of 2023, a $ 3 million renovation project is currently being carried out to renovate the walkways and stairs, among other improvements, and
320-402: The teeth of lambeosaurines, specifically Corythosaurus , though they also share similarities with the genus Prosaurolophus . Numerous species have been referred to this genus, mostly before World War I . Only those originally named as a species of Trachodon are considered here. Type species : T. mirabilis Leidy, 1856 Other species: As a hadrosaurid, Trachodon would have been
340-470: The tooth having not been used (p. 149). The name is no longer in use, except in historical discussions, and is considered a nomen dubium . In 1936, paleontologist Charles Sternberg compared the holotype teeth of Trachodon mirabilis to those of more completely known hadrosaurids and noted that they were most similar to those of lambeosaurines. It has been reported that paleontologist John R. Horner also found that Trachodon teeth compare well with
360-489: Was Crystal Palace Dinosaurs , which opened in London in 1854. Other dinosaur parks are listed below. Lebanon Dino valley. Lying in the lap of Margalla Hills National Park, this is kids 'must see' place. It's the first dinosaur theme park of Pakistan. Roadside Dinosaurs ( http://www.roadarch.com/dinos/main.html ) A Guide for Dinosaur Provincial Park Camping Trachodon Trachodon (meaning "rough tooth")
380-631: Was based on ANSP 9260, seven unassociated teeth, one of which had double roots. With better remains from Hadrosaurus , he began to reconsider his taxonomy, and suggested, at least informally, that Trachodon should refer to the double-rooted tooth, and the other teeth should be referred to Hadrosaurus . In the Bone Wars that followed, and their wake, the taxonomy of Trachodon and its relatives became increasingly confusing, with one author going so far as to sink all known hadrosaur species into Trachodon except for Claosaurus agilis , but as new material
400-468: Was described from the Rocky Mountain region, Alberta , and Saskatchewan , later authors began progressively restricting the reach of this genus. By 1942, and the publication of the influential Lull-Wright monograph on duckbills, its holotype was regarded as "typical of all the genera of hadrosaurian dinosaur", except for the roughened margin that gave it its name, and that they regarded as due to
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