Bongoland Ruins

Back in 2013, I visited the Dunlawton Sugar Mill ruins and the Bongoland Ruins in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Both the sugar mill and bongoland ruins happen to be at the same location which is now just called the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. The park is a great place to spend a couple of hours exploring local history while walking through oak covered canopies. Below you can see a few of the 360-degree panoramic images I captured while at the botanical gardens. The images show what is left of the dinosaur statues created by Manny Lawrence.

Click here to view it in fullscreen

Equipment used to capture the 360-degree panoramic images:

• Canon Rebel T1i
• Sigma 8mm Fisheye
• 360precision Atome head
• Manfrotto 190ex tripod

About Bongoland

In the 1940s, land was leased to Dr. Perry Sperber, the first dermatologist in Daytona Beach. Dr. Sperber had a strong interest in dinosaurs and came up with the idea of creating Bongoland, a kind of theme park named after a baboon

he 1940s, some of the land was leased to Dr. Perry Sperber, who worked as the first dermatologist in Daytona Beach and had a keen interest in dinosaurs—he even published the book Sex and the Dinosaur, which described how modern animals could be related to the prehistoric reptiles. Sperber wanted to revive the place and turn it into a theme park, so he enlisted Manny Lawrence to create huge dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.

Lawrence crafted life-sized beasts out of chicken wire and concrete, which towered over the few tourists who trickled through. The park also included a recreated Seminole village, the historic sugar mill ruins, and live animals, including its namesake baboon. A miniature train whisked visitors by the attractions.

But as it turns out, this strange mishmash of exhibits wasn’t enough to draw in a crowd. In 1952, just five years after it opened, Bongoland closed. The concrete dinosaurs managed to defy nature and have withstood the test of time. Today they’re embedded in what has become a peaceful garden flush with several plant collections including magnolias, succulents, and ferns in a small grotto.