Dive bar dinosaur pinched for unpermitted rooftop perch; ‘Keep Lake Worth Weird’ fans roar
‘Like extinction wasn’t enough, code enforcement kills me again,’ marquee says after Harry's Banana Farm racks up $15,000 in code fines
A DIVE BAR dinosaur, forced off its rooftop perch because it didn’t have a permit, has some residents roaring with concern that the city’s proud “Keep Lake Worth weird” vibe may be headed for extinction.
For more than two years, the 5-ft. velociraptor statue looked out from the roof edge at Harry’s Banana Farm, the popular North Dixie Highway watering hole infamous for its witty roadside marquee messages.
But on Friday, the fiberglass dino came down, with reluctant help from longtime bar manager Lou DeStout, to stem the financial bleeding from the bite of daily code fines.
Harry’s has racked up $15,000 in fines since November for not having a building permit for the statue, once part of an outdoor exhibit at Cox Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach. The violation was discovered last year on a “routine patrol,” according to Lake Worth Beach code enforcement records.
“Like extinction wasn’t enough, code enforcement kills me again,’’ says the marquee above the dinosaur’s new sidewalk perch by the bar’s entrance.
DeStout said he could not comment on the case. But others had plenty to say, especially after a photo of the grounded raptor sparked a thread of concerns on Facebook.
“Yes, by all means,’’ Maryanne Baker wrote, “keep taking away every single thing that makes this town unique and quirky and artistic so eventually you can’t distinguish one town from the next.’’
In 2024, code officers went after a giant permit-lacking skeleton outside Trashe Vintage, a punk-themed clothing store at 521 N. Dixie Highway.
A few years before that, a popular flamingo mural that for years decorated the side of a South J Street art gallery was painted over after the building owner was cited for not having a permit.
Those kinds of decorations made Lake Worth Beach unique and fit its quirky, artsy vibe, many residents say.
Other eye-catching sculptures along Dixie Highway include the rooftop fish at Tuppen’s Marine & Tackle, the facade-mounted horse at the old McLelland Saddlery shop, and the giant purse outside the Palm Beach Art, Antiques & Design Showroom.
The dinosaur debate comes as city commissioners are considering a new ordinance for murals and statues around the city. The regulations, to be discussed again on April 21, didn’t exactly get a warm welcome when introduced to commissioners March 17.
“We make a lot of noise that we are an artist-friendly community, that we’re a creative community, that we’re a little quirky,’’ Commissioner Chris McVoy said during a general discussion about murals without referring to a specific case.
“Why can’t government be a little more reasonable in an artistic town and say, ‘You know what? It’s fine. Don’t go pestering it.’’’
William Waters, director of Community Sustainability, said the city can’t selectively enforce the code.
The trouble with Harry’s was briefly mentioned that night after commissioner Mimi May asked for examples of statues the proposed ordinance would legislate.
“Harry’s Banana Farm has a dinosaur on it that was not put up with a permit,’’ Waters said. “We don’t have a mechanism to allow someone to attach a sculpture to a building.’’
Some have questioned the city’s motives for going after the dinosaur in the first place. Even if it did lack a proper permit, the statue wasn’t harming anyone, they said.
“Why is this even an issue?” asked Tammy Pansa.
“You’re taking away the essence of the town, and it’s pretty damn sad,’’ said Brendan Reed, a Harry’s regular.
It was Reed who introduced the dinosaur to Harry’s. He found the statue in a ditch next to the parking lot at Cox Science Center, where he was on assignment as a sound technician in October 2023.
“It was in pieces and all broken up,’’ he said.
With the blessing of the science center, he said, he put the pieces in his van and repaired them. As a Halloween surprise for his kids, he assembled the velociraptor — famous in the Jurassic Park movie franchise — in the living room of his Sunset Ridge home.
“The kids came in after school and their screams were hilarious,’’ he recalled. “My wife came home after work around midnight. She flips the light on. I count to three and hear her shriek at this dinosaur staring at her in the living room.’’
The next day, he brought it to Harry’s Banana Farm. It was love at first sight for DeStout, Reed said, and the statute was bolted to the roof.
“All of this is kind of my fault,’’ Reed said the other day, refering to the code issues.
But he said he’s surprised the city would even target Harry’s, a Lake Worth business since 1954 and featured in October in Southern Living magazine’s top 25 dive bars in the southeast United States.
“You would think you would try and support this place as much as possible. It’s literally a relic,’’ he said.
Reed admits the dinosaur will still be appreciated at its new ground-level spot. But DeStout’s decision to mount the statue on the roof was part of his ongoing mission to use Harry’s as a repository and museum of local history.
“This guy is literally trying to preserve the history, the integrity, the character of our sweet little oasis here,’’ Reed said.
“For them to try and start wiping away those little characteristics that make this place special to me shows a lack of understanding of the community. Lake Worth’s story is weird, special and full of freaks. We like it that way.’’
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the source of a social media comment about the dinosaur’s removal. Marianne Baker made the comment.
I can't s peak to the stringent code enforcements, but I do know that we purchased a winter home in LWB because of what I would call the "funky" feel to the town. . I explain to my friends that we live in the Greenwich Village of Palm Beach County. We think that's a good thing; and hope it remains that way... I'm putting a link here to a story of another lizard living on the roof of a bar. It was in NYC during the late 70s and 80's around the corner from our current NYC apartment. Don't know if it had a permit. But it was cool. https://msmokemusic.com/blogs/mind-smoke-blog/posts/7341021/remembering-the-lone-star-cafe-nyc
Remember this the next opportunity you have to VOTE! The only Commissioner that had something to say about this issue was McVoy. What do the rest of them have to say about this? I guess they are too busy plotting to build new instead of preserving what we already have.
Preserve and Protect!