Orange Dinosaur

USA / Massachusetts / Saugus /
 golf course, landmark, dinosaur, mini golf, 1960_construction, 1960s construction
 Upload a photo
Local landmark in the Route 1 Mini Golf and Batting Cages run by Diana and Richard Fay. Fay's late uncle, Nicholas Melchionna, had the 20-foot-tall orange dinosaur built in South Boston in 1960 to rattle putters on the "Double Trouble" Hole 6.

Local fans of the 12-foot-tall orange dino, which has sat on the property for over 50 years, started a Facebook page called “SAVE Our Dinosaur” to help ensure its safety after developer Michael Touchette announced plans to build hotels, apartment buildings, and retail space on the property.

The local icon has been saved, and generations of fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

“The orange dinosaur is called the orange dinosaur. As soon as you say the orange dinosaur people know exactly what you’re talking about,” said Diana Fay, the owner of Route 1 Miniature Golf and Batting Cages in Saugus.

For a while she was worried the dinosaur would go, well, the way of the dinosaurs. But one of the developers bought it and promises to keep it on the property.

“It might stay where it is because it’s such a landmark. When I tell people I bought this land in Saugus they say, where is it, and I say, you know where the orange dinosaur is? They know where it is,” said Michael Barsamian, a developer.

Some of the other items will find new homes, and 4 mini-golf obstacles named after Diana’s grandchildren will move to her backyard. And as the batting cages go silent, the golfers sink their final putts and the Dairy Castle serves its final cone, we can take some comfort knowing that a piece of the past remains.

“He’s been a part of Route 1 for all these years. He belongs here. He’s staying here,” said Diana.
Expect the new complex to open in late fall of 2017.


www.theorangedinosaur.com/
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   42°27'12"N   71°1'25"W

Comments

  • Yay! <3
This article was last modified 10 years ago