CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- "Dino," the iconic commercial dinosaur sculpture that for years marked Sinclair gas stations, is making a comeback in Iowa. Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Hawkeye Oil Co. is completing the installation of Dino sculptures at five Hawkeye Convenience Stores after converting to the Sinclair brand from CITGO early this year, said The Gazette.
Five of the company's 10 stores won't get the sculptures, primarily because of local ordinances governing their placement.
Sinclair began using the apatosaurus figure as a registered [image-nocss] trademark in 1930 and later expanded its use to include sculptures at some of its retail locations. Exhibits sponsored by Sinclair at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and the 1964 New York City World's Fair further cemented the company's association with the dinosaur, said the report.
Hawkeye Oil vice president Marshall Petersen said the company's decision to install the Dinos was entirely voluntary. At a time when the rising cost of gas and cigarettes have people frowning, Dino helps brighten the mood. "They're just fun to have. They certainly are an eyecatcher," Petersen told the newspaper. "Children, especially, love them."
Store employees in Marion, where Hawkeye Oil installed the first dinosaurs, recently decorated them in Halloween costumes, added the report.
Petersen said Hawkeye Oil is keeping an extra dinosaur in reserve in its warehouse for future use. He has borrowed the company Dino for children's' birthday parties. "It's always a big hit," he said.
Eastern Iowa once had many Sinclair Dinos because of the prevalence of Sinclair's distribution system, the report said. Now, few remain.
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