It’s arguably one of the most-missed local roadside attractions, drawing families from far and wide for decades.
But the land in Bridal Falls, between Chilliwack and Hope, that was once known as Bedrock City, and then DinoTown, is now a residential development. The only piece of history left there is the sherbet-coloured dinosaur among the trees.
But a Youtube-based series called Thru the Gift Shop has just created a 15-minute homage to the history of the business, from its beginnings as an idea in one man’s mind.
The voiceover explains the history of Nick Dyck, who built a dinosaur themed attraction in Maple Ridge in the 1950s. He had a deep interest in all of the creatures of the dinosaur age, and his attraction was popular. But that eventually ended, and after a few years, the dinosaurs were sold to the Ell family.
That family had already built a Flinstones theme park in Kelowna, and were eager to build one at the 18-acre parcel in Bridal Falls. Bedrock City opened in 1975.
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Then in 2005, the park was converted to non-licensed theming as Dusty’s Dinotown and introduced a new mascot family with live stage performances, the video says. Following that, Dinotown Live was created and set up on the Cloverdale Fairground in 2012, and 2013 at Bridal Falls. For the summer of 2014, 2015 and 2016 Dinotown Funland operated at Cultus Lake across from the Cultus Waterpark.
The full video is 15 minutes long, and includes clips from commercials, the Flintstones, and other memorable images.
Thru the Gift Shop has a long list of tourist attractions they’ve explored on their site, running the gamut from Seattle’s Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, to a former BC penitentiary cemetery, to the Riverdale filming locations in Mission. The series producers normally travel around, but have been confined to local areas around the lower mainland and Fraser Valley.
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