Vermontasaurus

Vermontasaurus sculpture in Post Mills, Vermont.
Photograph taken 7 July 2010

Vermontasaurus is a 25-foot-tall (7.6 m), 122-foot-long (37 m) folk art representation of a dinosaur at the Post Mills Airport in the town of Thetford, Vermont. It is the creation of retired teacher and experimental balloon pilot, Brian Boland, together with a crew of volunteers, who used scrap lumber obtained from a collapsed portion of Boland's private museum and hot-air balloon manufacturing facility to build the sculpture, starting in June, 2010. Boland adopted the name, "Vermontasaurus," from the comment of an onlooker.[1]

As of July, 2010 the State of Vermont and the town of Thetford had weighed in on whether Vermontasaurus was a work of art or a structure that requires a permit. The state Division of Fire Safety prohibited people from being allowed underneath the sculpture, pending the approval of a structural engineer to attest that it was safe to do so. Subsequently, Vermont District Environmental Commission No. 3 granted a permit for the wooden dinosaur, ruling that it had no negative environmental impact under Vermont's Act 250.[2] Despite an initial assertion that the structure would require a building permit, the town of Thetford waived the requirement, ruling that the structure is a work of art.[3][4] The sculpture received confirmation as a permitted use from Thetford's Development Review Board in an August, 2010 meeting attended by more than 50 people. The decision was controversial because such a large sculpture was not a use envisioned in the town's ordinances.[5]

In October, 2011, three months after the State of Vermont ruled that the sculpture could remain in place, the tourist attraction's midsection sagged to the ground.[6] In June, 2012 Boland organized approximately 50 volunteers from as far away as Maine to transform the collapsed portion of the sculpture into a revised representation of a dinosaur. In addition, volunteers built a "baby Vermontasaurus", alongside.[7]

According to the Valley News, the sculpture is part of an eclectic collection of old cars, improvised vehicles connected with hot-air ballooning, and other curiosities that Boland has assembled at the Post Mills Airport.[6]

Vermontasaurus after its October, 2011 collapse.
Vermontasaurus after its June, 2012 restoration.

References

  1. ↑ Curran, John (11 July 2010). "Vt. scrap-wood dinosaur posing modern-day problem". Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  2. ↑ Associated Press. "Vermont man gets OK to keep 122-foot wooden dinosaur". Burlington Freepress. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
  3. ↑ Sands, Paul A. (23 July 2010). "Vermontasaurus". WPTZ Television. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  4. ↑ Kent, Rachel (20 July 2010). "Vermontasaurus Sparks Controversy in Thetford, VT". Fox 44 News. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Katie Beth (2010-08-11). "Board Divided on Dinosaur Permit". Valley News. White River Junction, Vermont. pp. A1, A3.
  6. 1 2 Langois, Krista (2011-11-22). "'Vermontasaurus' Suffers Bad Break". Valley News. White River Junction, Vermont. pp. A1.
  7. ↑ Caruso, Aimee; Hauck, Jennifer (2012-06-10). "Rebuilding the Vermontasaurus". Valley News. White River Junction, Vermont. pp. E1, E4.

Coordinates: 43°53′09″N 72°14′59″W / 43.88583°N 72.24972°W / 43.88583; -72.24972

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