When the land where the dinosaur has stood for decades was sold for a strip shopping center, the company building the mall decided to leave the statue, not only because it will draw attention, but also because it has become something of a local landmark. Some stories about this t-rex are available online (
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"Like a Jurassic Park wannabe, the whimsical-looking Tyrannosaurus rex has stood like a silent sentinel at that location for more than 44 years. It’s survived extinction, demolition and proposed moves to Orlando, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington, London and Australia.
The 20-foot concrete creature with the jagged teeth, killer jaw and light-bulb eyes that glow red at night was once the kingpin of a Goony Golf Course on Beach. And who can ignore that haunting, sort of tacky, orange color.
Dick Calvert, who at the time owned a pool-building company, told the Times-Union in 2007 that Goony Golf officials called him about 1970 to build the T. rex and other characters, such as Humpty-Dumpty. They figured he knew how to use the materials and sent the replica in three pieces. He and his crew welded the metal framing, finished the wire mesh work and hand-stuccoed the creature, while he troweled the individual scales, the Times-Union reported.
T. rex held a huge bone in one of its mechanical claws that operated a door to collect the golf balls. Calvert guessed that it weighs 5 or 6 tons, due to its concrete-filled tail, legs, lower body and the foundation.
Goony Golf closed in 1999, and Ash Properties bought the site in 2001. T. rex survived the sale and reconstruction of the property into a retail shopping center and became a parking lot fixture.
When the Times-Union and an Ash official asked readers to submit names for the dino, thousands of people suggested monikers or offered comments and memories about the golf course. Some suggestions even came from Maine, Vermont, Washington, Missouri, Colorado, England, Germany and Sri Lanka.
The most popular was Sexy Rexy, with others including Eighth Wonder, Elvis, King Rah, Jackson T-Rex, Jax Rex, J-Rex, Sonny Beach, Dino, Dino Jag, Mr. Dino and Sir Dino. One person suggested Eyesaur, considering it tacky looking. International suggestions included Rexster from England, Mr. T from Germany and Legend from Sri Lanka.
Offers to take the dinosaur came from Disney World, Disneyland and other theme parks. They also came from other cities and a couple of foreign countries. Jacksonville politicians wanted to move it to Metropolitan Park.
Calvert’s daughter-in-law in Atlanta wanted to move T.rex to Georgia. “I said, you gotta be kidding,” Calvert laughingly told the Times-Union. “You’d need a house mover to move him.”
In any case, readers wanted it preserved.
While Ash Properties initially intended to move T. rex, the community response persuaded the company to renovate it, a Times-Union story said. In 2007, students and a professor in the University of North Florida’s Department of Building Construction Management sandblasted, pressure-washed, resurfaced, repaired and repainted the dinosaur. Ash Properties provided the materials and covered the costs. Fencing, landscaping and lighting were added.
There are no plans for it to become extinct."
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