Location | Port Orford, Oregon, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°36′45″N 124°23′34″W / 42.6123672°N 124.3926855°W |
Status | Operating |
Opened | 1955 |
Owner | Kiki McGrath |
Area | 33 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.
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]
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]
Location | Port Orford, Oregon, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°36′45″N 124°23′34″W / 42.6123672°N 124.3926855°W |
Status | Operating |
Opened | 1955 |
Owner | Kiki McGrath |
Area | 33 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.
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]
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]