Bayville Dinosaur May Soon Have A New Perch On Route 9

by Patricia A. Miller

Dino the dinosaur stands battered, but unbowed on his perch outside a defunct paint store on Route 9 South.

He’s been there for more than 80 years, since taxidermist Will Farrow bought him from a Sinclair gas dealer in Freehold in the early 1930s.

He’s endured several injuries from cars, stood through blizzards, Nor’easters and even Superstorm Sandy. Recently a large crack has appeared in the dinosaur’s neck.

Now many in town have banded together to restore the beloved Bayville landmark and save him from further injury.

The Township Council passed a resolution last night in support of moving the dinosaur further down Route 9, to the township-owned Berkeley Township Historical Society property.

“It’s something that’s very important to a lot of us Bayvillians,” Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said.

While the mayor was discussing the matter at the meeting, Steve Baeli, founder of the Berkeley Township Citizens Group Facebook page, Jim Fosbre, president of the Berkeley Township Historical Society and P.B.A. member David Burke were meeting upstairs with Township Councilman James J. Byrnes.

The Berkeley Township Citizens Group had already discussed holding fundraisers for repairs and other possible locations for the 10-foot-high dinosaur and wanted a say in the restoration, Baeli has said.

He got what he wanted.

A committee consisting of Burke, Byrnes, Baeli and Fosbre was formed. Baeli will chair the committee, he said.

Now the dinosaur’s future hinges on whether the current property owner - Texas-based Acquired Capital II - will allow the landmark to be removed from its current location and restored. The former property owner lost the store and the lot to foreclosure, Amato said.

Amato will contact the owners of the property to try and secure ownership of the dinosaur. If that is successful, the committee will work on relocation plans and fundraisers, Baeli said on the Facebook page.

“We will be looking for volunteers to work on the subcommittees, so for all of you who are interested in being involved, that will be your chance,“ he wrote.

The Sinclair advertising dinosaurs - collectively all named ”Dino,” debuted in the early 1930s and featured various types of dinosaurs at Sinclair gas stations throughout the country, according to the American Oil & Gas Historical Society.

To read more about the history of the Sinclair dinosaurs, click here:

http://aoghs.org/oil-amanac/sinclair-dinosaur/