Prehistoric Gardens
LocationPort Orford, Oregon, United States
Coordinates42°36′45″N 124°23′34″W / 42.6123672°N 124.3926855°W / 42.6123672; -124.3926855
StatusOperating
Opened1955 (1955)
OwnerKiki McGrath
Area33 acres (13 ha)[1]

Prehistoric Gardens is a roadside attraction located on Oregon's Highway 101 Coastal Route. Founded in 1955 in Port Orford, the gardens feature 23 life-sized sculptures of dinosaurs set among the lush foliage of the area's temperate rainforest. The gardens are the work of amateur paleontologist E.V. "Ernie" Nelson; the site is run by Nelson's granddaughter.

Description

Prehistoric Gardens consists of 23 life-sized dinosaurs.[1] The sculptures are created with a steel frame base and sculpted with mesh-like metal lath and concrete.[2] The largest sculpture is an 86-foot-long brachiosaurus.[3] Signs provide information about each of the dinosaurs represented, as well as plants indigenous to the area.[1] While the sculptures are anatomically accurate, the paint colors were chosen to be fanciful and photogenic.[1]

A small gift shop sells dinosaur related merchandise along with products such as fossils and agates.[1] Approximately 200 people visit the site every day in the busier summer months.[1]

brightly colored sculpture of a carnivorous dinosaur, with a herbivore dinosaur in the background
A Tyrannosaurus and Brachiosaurus welcome visitors to Prehistoric Gardens

History

E.V. Nelson grew up on a farm in Minnesota and as a child he was passionate about dinosaurs and natural history.[4] He dreamed of becoming an artist, and was offered a position as a cartoonist at Walt Disney Studios, but chose a job as an accountant to ensure financial security for his family during the Great Depression.[3] He owned a mill machinery supply business and worked as a Certified Public Accountant, until, in the early 1950s, he decided to make his childhood dream of a prehistoric park come true.[5] In 1953 he and his wife sold his accounting business and their home in Eugene and bought 77 acres of land in coastal Oregon.[1]

Nelson visited natural history museums across the U.S. and consulted with paleontologists to create drawings of skeletal remains and fossils in order to create scientifically correct models.[1][4] Nelson spent three years researching anatomy and designing the initial dinosaurs.[2] He created five dinosaurs in the first two years of business; it took him 30 years to create the 23 dinosaurs in the park.[4] Prehistoric Gardens opened January 1, 1955.[6] The initial admission prices were 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.[7]

Nelson ran the site until his death at age 91 in 1999.[3] Nelson's granddaughter Kiki McGrath inherited the park and continues running the attraction.[1] Prehistoric Gardens was featured on a 2017 episode of Strange Inheritance, a Fox Business Network reality television show, focusing on the history of the park and Nelson's family's choice in continuing to run the park or selling the land.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pinkham, Linda (March 5, 2020). "Prehistoric Gardens – still a modern wonder". Curry Coastal Pilot. Brookings, Oregon. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Lautenbach, Anika (August 9, 2017). "A Few Strange Attractions That Aren't in Portland". The Corvallis Advocate. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Gaffney, Brian (January 29, 2017). "1960's 'Jurassic' Park Lives On". Fox Business. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Hale, Jamie (January 9, 2019). "Prehistoric Gardens evades extinction on the southern Oregon coast". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Turnquist, Kristi (January 27, 2017). "Oregon's Prehistoric Gardens featured on Fox Business Network show". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ "History". Prehistoric Gardens. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Dino Park". Strange Inheritance. Season 3. Episode 316. 2017. 8 minutes in. Fox Business Network. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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