The dinosaur statue that looks out from atop a mesa outside Canadian, Texas, has fallen into disrepair. But now, reports the Canadian Record, the 50-foot-long, 17-foot-high dinosaur has a bright future. A fund has been established for the concrete-and-steel dinosaur’s restoration.
The dinosaur, designed and built by Canadian resident Gene Cockrell, is known to locals as “Aud”—short for Audrey.Cockrell says he built the statue so that local children driving along US 83 would know they were almost home. He painted the dinosaur green and gold, after the Canadian High School football colors. Cockrell has personally been repainting the dinosaur every few years and patching her bullet holes. If you’d like to see Aud, you’ll find him standing on a hilltop overlooking the northbound side of US Hwy 83. In addition to Aud, many more of Cockrell's works will be restored. You can see photos of some of those works here.
