Salt Lake City International Airport's First Dinosaur

By Lisa Potter

What’s more exciting than a shortcut to the B-Gates? An Allosaurus at the airport!

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, the Salt Lake City International Airport and the Natural History Museum of Utah unveiled the airport’s first-ever dinosaur—Ally, a 30-foot-long, 15-foot-tall skeleton of Allosaurus fragilis.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be here today to reveal a project that’s been 150 million years in the making,” Jason Cryan, executive director of NHMU, said to the crowd gathered to celebrate the completed Concourse B. “Turn around as we unveil Utah’s state fossil as it’s never been seen before!”

The Jurassic Park theme boomed from the speakers, and the airport assembly spun around and gasped as the curtain fell to reveal Ally in all her glory.

From the Late Jurassic to Concourse B

Photo by Jack Rodgers | NHMU

The museum has wanted a dinosaur at the airport for decades. The recent expansion and a gift from Kirk Ririe, Bob and Cyndi Douglass, and the Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation made it happen.

“I’m originally from the Chicago area, and the O’Hare International Airport has an iconic Brachiosaurus skeleton that gets people excited. I’ve always wanted that for Salt Lake City’s airport,” said Randy Irmis, curator of paleontology at NHMU and professor of geology at the University of Utah. “Utah is known for its dinosaurs. We hope this inspires visitors and locals to explore the really cool dinosaur heritage of our state.”

Irmis suggested a handful of potential candidates, but Allosaurus fragilis was the obvious choice. In addition to being Utah’s official fossil, this specimen has a long history with the state, the U and the museum.

In 1924, a team of scientists led by U geology professor Frederick J. Pack excavated the Allosaurus fragilis fossil in the recently established Dinosaur National Monument. They uncovered Allosaurus in a world-famous slice of the Morrison Formation, a quarry that has yielded more than 350 tons of fossils.

The merry party transported Allosaurus and other fossilized bones by horse-drawn caravan, trekking 220 miles from Jensen to Salt Lake City. They paraded up President’s Circle, announcing their discovery with a “University Dinosaurs” banner draped across a wagon.

“It was the perfect choice,” Irmis said. “It’s the 100th anniversary of the fossil’s collection this year. It’s the state fossil. It has history with the university and the museum, and we had already had it molded and cast.”

Ally takes flight

For Tim Lee, director of exhibits for NHMU, designing the Allosaurus installation was an artist’s holy grail.

“As I worked on the project, I realized that millions of people will be seeing this. That’s freaking awesome…and a bit daunting!” said Lee, who conceptualized Ally’s positioning, lighting, platform and barrier. “There’s so much alignment between the museum and the airport—we’re both gateways to discovery and adventure, and we’ve designed our spaces to reflect what makes Utah such an amazing, unique place.”

Photo by Jack Rodgers | NHMU

The architects of the museum’s Rio Tinto Center building drew inspiration from Utah’s dynamic landscapes and stunning geology, a tenet Lee upholds in his exhibit designs. The airport followed a similar philosophy. Gordon Huether, a world-renowned artist responsible for most of the airport’s installations, wanted to celebrate Utah’s natural beauty. As he drove around the state, he locked in on the wavy striation pattern embedded in southern Utah’s red rocks. Huether designed similar shapes to adorn the new tunnel leading visitors to the B-Gates.

Lee carried the stratigraphy motif into Ally’s display. The dinosaur stands amidst wavy contour lines that serve as a platform and barrier to the fossil. He was inspired by the real topography of Dinosaur National Monument, where U scientists discovered the fossil.

“I wanted the piece to fit seamlessly with what the airport had already established,” Lee said. “I also wanted to highlight the Allosaurus. If there’s anything I’ve learned working with our amazing museum collections, it’s to let the object be the story—don’t overshadow it.”

Learn more about Allosaurus fragilis here. 

This article was first published in @theU.