Essential California | Tell us: What are California’s essential landmarks?

By Ryan Fonseca

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, Dec. 12. I’m Ryan Fonseca.

Drive on Interstate 10, just between the wind turbines and the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and you’ll see them: a towering Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus, beckoning to you.

At least, they beckoned to me on a recent trip to Palm Springs. As I drove closer, I could make out that the 65-feet-tall T-rex had donned his holiday apparel: a painted-on Santa suit. I had only one option: Take the next exit and get a closer look at these absolute units.

The Cabazon Dinosaurs attraction launched in 1975 after the completion of the Apatosaurus, named Dinny, measuring 150 feet long and 45 feet tall.

Dinny the Apatosaurus looms over visitors to Cabazon Dinosaurs. (Ryan Fonseca / Los Angeles Times)

The concrete-and-steel dinosaur was the work of Claude K. Bell, a former artist for Knott’s Berry Farm. He started building it the 1960s, reportedly using discarded material salvaged from the construction of the nearby 10 Freeway. Bell wanted to attract passersby to his restaurant, Wheel Inn cafe. The 65-feet-tall Mr. Rex was completed in the ’80s, shortly before Bell died at age 91.

The concrete creatures soon made their mark in pop culture, with cameos in films like 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and 1989’s “The Wizard.”

The park was sold in the ’90s and later began operating as a museum with a noticeable creationist theme. But science-versus-religion aside, the huge dinosaurs maintain their huge appeal.

Dinny houses a dino-sized souvenir shop, and visitors can go inside the T-rex and sit in his jaws — once they purchase a ticket to the adjacent dinosaur park that includes a walking path complete with static and animatronic dinosaurs of various kinds.

I’ll stop myself from writing something unwieldy about dinosaurs and their allure to young people (especially those like me who were young when “Jurassic Park” came out) and, with brevity in mind, just say: Dinosaurs are cool — and the bigger they are, the cooler they are.

That’s the vibe that brings hundreds of people out to Cabazon each week, eager to get their photo taken in the shadow of giants.

In recent years, Mr. Rex has dressed up as a superhero, a hopeless romantic and the Easter Bunny (among other ensembles), with some matching color schemes for Dinny.

In a time when Instagrammers rule the earth, the dinosaurs make for solid social content for anyone traveling to or from the Coachella Valley. (They have nearly 40,000 followers themselves on the platform).

Americans love a good landmark, and California has no shortage of them. They can be natural, like Yosemite’s gargantuan granite Half Dome; unnatural, like Venice’s unnerving yet beautiful ballerina clown; and even possibly supernatural, like the (haunted?) Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Despite their origin, many have become subjective symbols of life in the Golden State.

In that spirit, we’re trying something new in this newsletter and need to hear from you. Send us your photos of a cherished California landmark — natural or human-made — and tell us what makes it special to you.

Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. Your submissions could be featured as part of a new section of Essential California.

To submit your photos and share the landmark love, click here. I’m excited to see what you send us!

And now, here’s what’s happening across California.

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L.A. STORIES

After 241 years, the citizens of Los Angeles are waking up to a Madam Mayor. Karen Bass was ceremoniously sworn in Sunday as the city’s 43rd mayor by Vice President Kamala Harris. Bass, the first woman to lead the city, officially took over from Eric Garcetti at 12:01 a.m. today. She said she plans to declare a state of emergency on Day 1 in response to the homelessness crisis. Los Angeles Times

Wildlife officials plan to capture and evaluate P-22, L.A.’s beloved feline celebrity, citing concerns that the mountain lion “may be exhibiting signs of distress.” The puma, who wildlife officials called “remarkably old,” has been deemed responsible for killing a leashed Chihuahua and attacking another in recent weeks. P-22 sports a tracking collar, but finding and trapping him could take a while. Los Angeles Times

Check out “The Times” podcast for essential news and more

These days, waking up to current events can be, well, daunting. If you’re seeking a more balanced news diet, “The Times” podcast is for you. Gustavo Arellano, along with a diverse set of reporters from the award-winning L.A. Times newsroom, delivers the most interesting stories from the Los Angeles Times every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

It may be a new “low for L.A. politics” as The Times framed it, but it’s also perhaps the most fitting culmination of the city’s tumultuous year. In case you missed it, Councilmember Kevin de León got into a physical altercation with a protester Friday during a tree-lighting event in Lincoln Park. A group of activists confronted de León inside an auditorium as he handed out gifts to children, demanding he resign for his role in leaked racist audio recordings that sent shockwaves through the city. Now de León and Jason Reedy, the activist he is shown shoving on camera, have filed police reports against each other . Los Angeles Times

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HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Some 6,300 acres of private coastal land in Northern California is about to go public. Leaders of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District have approved the $16-million purchase of an area known as Cloverdale Ranch, located along Highway 1 south of Pescadero. Officials plan to connect the land to neighboring state parks and gradually open it for visitors in the next couple of years. San Francisco Chronicle

A winter storm pummeled parts of Northern California over the weekend, bringing heavy snow and strong winds to mountain areas, plus a slate of road closures. The storm also led to flooding in the Sacramento region. Lingering rain storms are expected to clear out Monday morning. The Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

The show went on for drag performers at a Fresno church over the weekend, despite threats and a protest outside that included members of the far-right Proud Boys. The Fresno Drag Festival featured drag queens singing and dancing for attendees inside as police and armed private security patrolled outside. There were no physical altercations, according to police, though a criminal investigation was launched Friday due to threats against organizers. The Fresno Bee

David Graziano, a TV writer who earlier this year became showrunner for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has been accused by former colleagues of mistreatment, including inappropriate, demeaning comments toward women, support staff and people of color. More than a dozen people who spoke with The Times characterized Graziano as “a volatile and bullying boss.” In a statement, Graziano denied allegations of inappropriate comments. Los Angeles Times

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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: showers likely, 55. San Diego: showers, 56. San Francisco: sunny, 54. San Jose: mostly sunny, 54. Fresno: patchy fog then sunny, 52. Sacramento: sunny after some overnight showers, 52.

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AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory is from Thomas D. Penberthy:

In 1957, my parents took us kids on a cross-country road trip from cold, gray, rain-soaked Buffalo, N.Y., to sun-drenched California. We visited my aunt and uncle in Fresno. Uncle Frank wore western boots, a cowboy belt buckle and western-cut slacks. He was cool. I loved his western boots. The following Christmas I received a gift (in the mail) from Uncle Frank. It was a pair of genuine, all-leather western boots.

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

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