Perched high above a sun-soaked parking lot in the midst of the Alberta Badlands, the fibreglass T-Trex billed as the World's Largest Dinosaur can be seen for miles around, the deadly theropod the pride and joy of Drumheller since the dawn of the 21st century. Viewed below in a scene reminiscent of Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997), this week's Architrivia pays homage to the gloriously campy roadside attraction just over an hour's drive from Calgary. 

World's Largest Dinosaur on the hunt in Drumheller, image by Flickr user MDV via Creative Commons

Completed between 1999 and 2001, the World's Largest Dinosaur stands an impressive 86 feet high, its hollow core home to a 106-stair ascent which conveys visitors to the observation deck, fittingly located within the jaws of the mighty T-Rex. 4.5 times bigger than a traditional tyrannosaur, the 65-tonne theropod cost $1 million, its status as king of the fibreglass dinosaurs more than worth the initial investment. 

World's Largest Dinosaur, Drumheller, image by Flickr user Antony Stanley via Creative Commons

While the Royal Tyrrell Museum remains the main attraction for those heading out to Drumheller, it can easily be argued - especially by children occupying the back seat during a family road trip - that no visit to the Badlands is complete without a stop at the World's Largest Dinosaur. 

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