Merritt Island, Florida: Dragon Statue (Gone)
- Hours:
- Collapsed 2002.
- Status:
- Gone
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Demolition has begun on Annie the Dragon. She was sculpted in 1971 by Lewis VanDercar, a self-described warlock, who would make her belch flame from a hidden propane tank. VanDercar later added baby dragons and a caveman couple. When he died in 1993 the sculptures fell into disrepair, and Annie collapsed during a storm in 2002.
According to a story in Florida Today, the property's new owner has pledged to replace Annie with "Rojack," a 60-foot-long double-headed dragon that will also spit fire and be lit by LEDs at night. He's also rebuilding the house on the property, so he doesn't expect the dragon to be finished until 2019.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 04/05/2017]The dragon was called "Annie," probably in reference to the owner of the home, Aynn Christal, that had the artist build the dragon. I played little league with the Christal son in the early 1970s.
In the early 1980's the home and dragon were completely renovated. At the time, I was a delivery driver for a local building supply company and made several trips out to the point. The dragon may have been destroyed by storms, but the abandoned home is still there.
[Bill, 11/14/2009]I had the pleasure of seeing the Dragon up close over the years. As a boy I even got to see inside of it (which wasn't that remarkable. I remember it being damp and seeing a disconnected TV set and microwave sitting around in the belly). At one time it did indeed breathe fire via propane tanks, but since a storm crippled it in 2002 and another totally demolished it in 2004 there is little left to see other than the legs. It was a real sight to see while we still had it.
My Dad knew the sculptor, Lewis Vandercar, and recalled a conversation with him about how how was going to build this giant monument at the end of Merritt Island. The house on the property still remains and would require a lot of renovation and rebuilding make livable again but even so it is 95% intact and inside it is just a gorgeous testament to 1980's architectural design. I never saw inside the house until after it had been abandoned. It's almost as impressive as the dragon itself. Even ruined it has so much character. It would be a shame if it were to be demolished. As for the dragon, nothing short of a completely new construction is needed. That sculpture really should be kept on a historic register so funds can be allocated to rebuild a new one. It really was special to the area.
[anonymous, 04/14/2009]The dragon statue is not rebuilt, and has in fact fallen into the water in pieces. You can only see parts of it by boat. The property owners had it up for sale still, but I don't know if the house, which is in disrepair, ever sold.
[danielle, 08/31/2006]I have lived here since before the dragon was built. She is on the southernmost tip of Merritt Island, FL, was built in 1971 and can be seen on most nautical maps listed as Dragon Point. Over the years she has been given the name "Annie." Dragon eggs had been added midway in her life. Unfortunately, on Aug 4th, 2002, a heavy downpour crushed her. Parts of her remain and numerous groups have been trying to reconstruct her -- but it seems unlikely at this point. A local frame shop sells mounted pictures of Annie along with "dinosaur" bones (pieces of her shell).
[Debbie Pitts, 04/27/2004]Page of 2 [Next 2 items]
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