Dinosaurs of Spring Hill
The Gray Dinosaur (A.K.A. Harold's Auto Shop)
It can only be described as an architect’s stroke of pure genius.
Architect William Wilkis put a new spin on a very old reptile.
Built in 1964, the gray, 47-foot-high, 110-foot-long brontosaurus has gone by many different names. First, it was a Sinclair Refining Co. gas station, built to represent the mascot of the refinery. Not only was it a West Florida landmark, it was also one of the few places you could stop for gas in a particularly deserted stretch of U.S. 19 before the metropolis of Spring Hill fully formed.
When Sinclair stopped selling gas in Florida in 1977, Spring Hill residents Harold and Irene Hurst turned the mammoth dinosaur into an auto repair shop and called it Harold’s Auto Shop. Their son, Dana, now runs the shop and never gets sick of telling its story to new visitors.
Known to Spring Hill residents as “just one of the dinosaurs,” the structure has gained national attention in the past few decades by appearing in the “Guinness Book of World Records,” on the Travel Channel, and a variety of publications around the world.
Don't worry you can't miss it, just look for the sign "Harold's Auto Shop!" lol
The Pink Dinosaur (A.K.A. "The Other Dinosaur")
Just a few miles south of Harolds dinosaur is “the other dinosaur.” It's a bit smaller, painted a Pepto-Bismol pink, and is a cross between a brontosaurus and a stegosaurus.
There is no business operating inside this one, but it once guarded the entrance to the Foxbower Wildlife Museum that was next door in the shopping center plaza more than 40 years ago.
Gerald Foxbower built the dinosaur to attract attention to his museum, which showcased animals who met their fate in taxidermy, including a “two-headed rattlesnake,” according to an article on the Roadside America Web site.
Some Spring Hill residents have tried to get the pink dinosaur designated as a historic landmark. The closest this one comes to national merit is its recognition in the “Encyclopedia of Bad Taste” in 1990.
It has had some damage to the tail.
