Email
Print
FeedMar 13, 201302:19 PM
When Dinosaurs Came To Memphis: The Sinclair Dinosaur Exhibit of the 1960s
photo by Wilson Weathers
In our March issue, I tell about the time mighty dinosaurs came to Memphis — in the form of lifesize fiberglass replicas of "thunder lizards" that were originally part of a terrific display created by the Sinclair Oil Company for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Sinclair used a friendly green Brontosaurus named "Dino" for its mascot, some of you may remember.
A reader, Doug Weathers, sent me several nice color photos of the dinosaurs taken by either his father or mother, Wilson and Anne Weathers, when the creatures were exhibited in parking lot of the Southgate Shopping Center, though nobody seems to know the exact date this happened. (Let me know if you do.)
Anyway, I ran two of the pictures — converted from the original 35mm Kodachrome slides — in the March "Ask Vance" column (on newsstands now!), so go there to read the full story. I liked the photos (and dinosaurs) so much I thought I'd share a few others here. I have to admit the creatures are really well done. Don't you agree?
Look closely, by the way, and you can see the big sign for Southgate Shopping Center peeking out from behind the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which helped me confirm the location of the exhibit while it was in Memphis.
Special thanks to Doug Weathers for sharing the photos.
Ask Vance is the blog of Vance Lauderdale, the award-winning columnist of Memphis magazine and MBQ: Inside Memphis Business. Vance is the author of two books: Ask Vance: The Best Questions and Answers from Memphis Magazine's History and Trivia Expert (2003), as well as Ask Vance: More Questions and Answers from Memphis Magazine's History Expert (2011). He is also the recipient of quite a few nice awards, the creator of several eye-catching wall calendars, and the only person we know with a vintage shock-treatment machine in his den. 
I remember that exhibit. I believe I was 6-8 years old when we visited it, so that would put it around 1967 or 1968. It was a beautiful fall day; I remember my sister and I jumping in a pile of leaves later that day with our souvenirs, plastic molded dinosaurs from one of those machines that made it while you watched. I'm sure those dinosaurs are somewhere in our attic still.