Claude K. Bell

Claude K. Bell (1896 – September 19, 1988) was an American sculptor and theme park artist best known for creating the giant concrete dinosaurs in Cabazon, California. Bell worked for many years at Knott's Berry Farm, and later built the roadside attractions known as the Cabazon Dinosaurs — Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex — which remain iconic landmarks along Interstate 10.

Early life Bell was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1896. As a teenager, he sculpted sand figures on the beach (famously teddy bears), earning tips from passersby. His father worked as a glassblower on the boardwalk. Inspired by the elephant-shaped building “Lucy” in Atlantic City, Bell later said he wanted to build something as memorable.

Career at Knott's Berry Farm In 1947, Bell was hired by Walter Knott to create concrete figures for the Ghost Town section of Knott’s Berry Farm, replacing earlier temporary props. He made numerous life-size statues including miners, saloon girls, and cowboys, among them “Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill” (cowboys on a bench) and a large Minuteman statue outside the park’s Independence Hall replica.

Dinny is about 150 feet long and 45 feet tall, made from steel mesh skeleton and sprayed concrete; its interior was built to house a gift shop and a small prehistoric exhibition space.

After his death, Bell’s family sold the Cabazon Dinosaurs property in the mid-1990s.