Psychedelic Dinosaur "Kidnapped" From Pittsburgh Coffee House

It’s hard to imagine that a two-headed, multi-colored Brontosaurus could "blend in" in a city like Pittsburgh. But the three-foot-long dinosaur sculpture, weighing 80 pounds, disappeared without a trace from the Quiet Storm Coffeehouse at 5430 Penn Avenue back on February 14th, 2002, and has yet to return.

The missing sculpture is one of a larger menagerie of paper maché creatures now on display at Quiet Storm. These fantastic monsters are created by Indiana, Pa. sculptor Gene Fenton, who said sadly of the Bronto’s disappearance, "Happy Valentine’s day to me, I guess. I don’t suppose I’ll ever see the Bronto again. I even heard he’s been pretty significantly damaged." Rumors persist that the two-headed Bronto was illegally liberated by some disgruntled bands, namely Understanding Emerson and Nobody’s Favorite, who had played the coffeehouse on the same night the creature went missing. Insiders at Quiet Storm suspect that the departing musicians, disgruntled after being asked to turn their volume down, took the snarling, two-headed Bronto from its spot near the business’s loading door. If the Bronto put up a fight, unfortunately nobody heard it. Ian Lipsky, owner of Quiet Storm, explained, "These monsters have been battling with each other in the store – but we never expected one of them to walk off on us."

Despite the pangs of loss generated by the Bronto’s absence, Lipsky said the dinosaur menagerie remains a success – and that the rest of Fenton’s creatures, he hopes, aren’t going anywhere. "This whole place is populated with dinosaurs. People love seeing them, and I love having them here."

There are 15 or so monsters in Fenton's current collection, the oldest one having been created about five years ago. Looking as if they’ve just plodded off the set of a classic monster movie, these imaginatively-styled creatures are colorful - and intentionally a little disturbing. Fenton is inspired largely by black and white films: "Most of my work has that Godzilla-like flair," he says. Photographs and a complete feature article about Fenton’s work are available.

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