The Last Thunderbeast
The Ghostly Reminder of Thunderbeast Park
Hwy 97 Chiloquin, Oregon
submitted by “Butterfly” (Amanda)
wendyvee says:
No, the “Last Thunderbeast” isn’t the latest B-grade fantasy movie.
First, I’ll let Amanda fill you in below …. 🙂
Then, hop over to the Smithsonian’s website for a 1958 family snapshot of another of the Thunderbeasts!
bonus: Amanda’s mother submitted one of my earliest entries back in 2006. Check out Dinah the Dinosaur!
Amanda says:
This giant creature is located right off of Hwy 97 in Chiloquin, Oregon. This is the “last” remnant of the old Thunderbeast Park.
This prehistoric beast is in very poor condition. It’s supposed to be some type of dinosaur, but you actually can’t tell because of its deterioration. Plus, as you can see, the new owners of the “park” are a trucking company that placed their sign directly blocking the beast. But this is a very historic landmark to those in the area and they have fond memories of Thunderbeast Park. This“last” standing relic is very symbolic to them.
I used quotes for “last” because I have it on good authority that there are actually more still standing; however, they’re on the private property of the new trucking company and the statues are very hidden in the woods. Some people have managed to sneak back there to get a glimpse, but there are now guard dogs on site … so I thought it best to not go dinosaur hunting!
I hate to say this, but there is mistaken information here, the link to the 1958 snapshot is not of a shot of Thunderbeast park.
The park did not have any dinosaurs, only mammals and birds type critters, and more importantly, did not open until 1962!…I wrote on the Smithsonian blog about this too….
I think you are correct about the Smithsonian link. It appears that their picture might actually be from Ernie Nelson’s Prehistoric Gardens (also in Oregon – and both parks appear to have been designed by Mr. Nelson).
Thanks for the tip!
, and oh, yea, the animal still standing is known as a Baluchitherion, i believe, or something like that, a 40 foot tall asian mammal…
I was lucky enough to go to TB park in 1963, i was 10; i visited it back in around 1998, and was allowed to tour what was left, still pretty cool, and kind of eerie with trees down over things and the toll the years had taken….
Wow, that must have been an experience to see it in ’98!
I am a Klamath Falls native, born and bred. Thunderbeast Park (now the home of Hub City Chrome) truly is a landmark to travelers and residents alike. In 1997 we took all the family’s grandkids to the park, only to find it abandoned. My law-abiding mother, not to disappoint the grandkids, pulled a Clark Griswold and dragged us all in (no one was held at gunpoint). The place was mostly intact but sadly a bit dilapidated. Should I
find the photos and convert them to digital copies-and we took lots of them- I will incriminate the bunch of us and post them for you all to enjoy.
Oh, I’d love to see them, Deanna!
I would absolutely treasure those photos….I hope you locate them!!!
I have set up a facebook group for Thunderbeast Park. Is there anyway I could get these pictures to post in the group? If you still live in Klamath and dont have a scanner let me know I live there too and could scan them for you. Thanks.
Thanks for all the information. I found a picture of my mother dated Aug.1969, standing infront of a Baluchitherium. At the base of the statue you can make out Thunderbeast Park. Now I know where it is.
Oh, that’s great Sharon!
Bernie Hauser had Thunder Beat park built. My father helped him plan what to do when Bernie lived in Crescent City CA. I going to Del Norte High School at the time, and I worked for Bernie that first summer when he opened the park, and lived with them in the house built above the gift shop. He was quite an interesting character.
Wow Phill, I’m so glad you found this post. I can’t imagine what a cool summer that was 🙂
Yes, I was thinking about TBP early this morning before I got up. I did a search to see if the park still existed. I would sweep the trails, work in the gift shop. I was 15 years old I think. Bernie and I would make bets on how much money was in the stack form ticket sales at the end of the day. He word a concealed shoulder holster with a gun sometimes. I got to drive a little tractor across the freeway to take garbage to the dump. I experimented with gasoline, to see how much I could put on the pile without making it scaring myself when it would blow up a little when I threw a match into it.