Restore The Bayville Dinosaur Fund Close To Its Goal

BAYVILLE, NJ - Good news for Dino.

The fundraiser held on Tuesday night here at the Heritage Square Professional Building on Route 9was a great success, according to the Restore the Bayville Dinosaur Facebook page.

"We do not have a total accounting yet, but it looks like we have met our goal," according to the post. "When the numbers are tallied, I will report them."

Dino's been in rough shape at times during his more than eight decades on Route 9. Shortly after a large crack appeared on his neck several years ago, supporters helped remove his neck and covered him in Shrinkwrap to protect him from the perils of Route 9.

The committee hired artist Shannon MacDonald, formerly of Bayville, to do his renovation project for $15,000. The committee already paid her $5,000, has $7,000 in donations in the bank, but still needed to make up the remaining balance, committee member Steve Baeli has said.

"If our goal is reached, this will be the last fundraiser needed," Baeli said before the event.

Baeli met last year with Anthony and Lisa Zangari, the new owners of the renovated 10,000 square-foot professional center and MacDonald.

"The consensus was that the rendering was excellent, both artistically and historically, as it balanced and melded those two vital elements in a way that complimented each other," Baeli has said. "The current vision will address the positioning of the head in a very artistic and majestic manner that will bring it back off the highway and out of the line of traffic."

Dino has a long history in Bayville. He's been perched in various incarnations in front of the building since 1935, when William Farrow bought him for $5 and set Dino up as an advertisement for his taxidermy business.
Baeli wrote a column from Dino's point of view several years ago. To read it, click here.

Photo: Courtesy of Save the Bayville Dinosaur Facebook page and Patricia A. Miller