A Jurassic Park-themed Halloween setup at a Downey home became so popular that the city stepped in and shut it down. The homeowner's decorations had drawn massive crowds, and now the dinosaurs are, for the moment, extinct. Here's what is known, and what remains unanswered, as Halloween approaches.
The shutdown was reported by CBS News in a video report titled “Downey dinosaur-themed Halloween house shut down by city after massive crowds.” The report's headline describes the Halloween house display as shut down by the city.
What We Don't Know About the Downey Shutdown
That leaves open whether the action traced back to permits, zoning, fire safety, traffic, noise or something else entirely. Downey's municipal code does contain rules on vehicle removal and street parking, but nothing reviewed establishes that those provisions applied to this display or triggered the shutdown.
Not the First Halloween Display to Hit City Hall
Over-the-top yard displays running into local rules is a recurring Halloween story. In Clifton, New Jersey, a display that had been an annual tradition for 25 years was shut down ahead of the holiday, CBS News New York reported. The creator was cited for installing cornstalks along the sidewalk and for having lights in a tree, and the oversized skeletons and witches had attracted thousands of visitors each year.
In Washington state, the Arlington Community Haunted House closed after “new building and fire code requirements led to a denied permit,” according to FOX 13 Seattle. The Murray family and volunteers had been running it in their yard every Halloween since 2015, and many of its props were adopted by Terror for a Cause in Stanwood.
Dinosaur Displays Draw Regional Crowds
Southern California has its own history of dinosaur-sized Halloween ambition. A Granada Hills family spent more than 200 hours designing and building a Jurassic Park display, which includes a 13-foot-tall replica of the iconic gates that stands taller than their house, Yahoo reported.
That display features a projected T-Rex paddock show with movie-inspired audio, lighting, fog and special effects. Visitors line up outside the home to watch, and some travel from across the region to see it in person.
