{"id":526,"date":"2014-06-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=526"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:13:55","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:13:55","slug":"hip-dinosaur-dippy-oaklands-trendy-dinosaur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/06\/25\/hip-dinosaur-dippy-oaklands-trendy-dinosaur\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip dinosaur Dippy, Oakland’s trendy dinosaur"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Dippy's <\/a>
Dippy’s statue unveiled in Oakland, 1999. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dippy <\/a>
Dippy is a Steelers fan. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"...and <\/a>
…and sometimes a Panthers fan… <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dippy <\/a>
Dippy sporting a special holiday scarf, 2004. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The Oakland statue of Dippy, the most famous dinosaur of Pittsburgh, seems to have been standing outside the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Forbes Avenue forever. He is old, right? It only makes sense: Dippy is a dino.<\/p>\n

The looks and names can be deceiving though. Dippy\u2019s fiberglass statue is only 15 years old. One of the most recognizable symbols of Pittsburgh was erected in 1999 to celebrate the centennial of discovering the bare bones of the real Dippy, Andrew Carnegie\u2019s obsession \u2014 that treasure still stands indoors in the museum\u2019s Dinosaur Hall.<\/p>\n

The indoors Dippy, whose real name is Diplodocus carnegii<\/em> (in honor of\u2026 well, you know who), first appeared before Pittsburgh\u2019s public in 1907. At that time, the 84-feet-long Diplodocus was a creature of superlatives: the tallest dinosaur ever found, the best preserved, the most desired by various collectors, the first dinosaur to ever be housed in the museum and many other THEs.\u00a0 <\/em>Even the tale of finding Dippy and bringing the bones to Pittsburgh was hailed “a soap opera about bones.”<\/a><\/p>\n

But enough drama about the Dippy who lives indoors. Tough life. Dippy who stands outside must be thinking his indoors counterpart has it easy. Snow, sleet, rain, thunder, bone-chilling cold and even the vandals \u2014 Dippy has seen it all in an unpredictable world of Pittsburgh\u2019s outdoors, and for that perseverance he earned the city\u2019s respect and recognition.<\/p>\n

Dippy, for sure, is a representative of Pittsburgh\u2019s pop culture. He even made it to Yinztagram, a Pittsburgh photo app, as an integral feature of the Steel City along with Primanti Bros. sandwich, Rick Sebak and a construction detour sign.<\/p>\n

The fiberglass Dippy is hip, too. During his short life he has sported more scarves and hats than an average Pittsburgher. Obviously, he does not choose his sports loyalties. Dippy\u2019s passions have Pittsburgh ties. He was spotted wearing the Steelers Terrible Towel, the Panthers\u2019 scarf, the green-and-white scarf with shamrock on it before St. Patrick\u2019s Day and even a bicycle helmet (maybe as a precursor to the advent of the cycling culture in the Steel City?).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dippy\u2019s fiberglass statue is only 15 years old.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesHip dinosaur Dippy, Oakland’s trendy dinosaur<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[989,1025,1001,1033,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/tumblr_n7obs3wz8e1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2135,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/17\/trolleys-on-fifth-avenue-in-oakland\/","url_meta":{"origin":526,"position":0},"title":"Trolleys on Fifth Avenue in Oakland","date":"January 17, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Streetcars figured prominently in Pittsburgh\u2019s history and carried many students to classes at the University of Pittsburgh.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mgq36sDIYQ1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":117,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/31\/ghosts-take-center-stage-at-pittsburgh-playhouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":526,"position":1},"title":"Ghosts take center stage at Pittsburgh Playhouse","date":"October 31, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Some say they have seen a ghost at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, and it wears a tuxedo.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_ne6aos9FIM1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C863&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/14\/final-moments-of-forbes-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":526,"position":2},"title":"Final moments of Forbes Field","date":"February 14, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Instead of demolition, the question was asked \u201cWhy not open it up for kids to play ball?\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n0yi05o5031rr5swxo7_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C788&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2661,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/08\/oct-12-1962-the-front-page-headline-in-the\/","url_meta":{"origin":526,"position":3},"title":"John F. 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