Bedrock City near Williams shuts down

Bedrock City, a concrete entertainment complex inspired by “The Flintstones” animated television show, near Williams, Arizona, quietly closed over the weekend after the property changed hands.

KJZZ radio. which first broke the story, reported:

The 30-acre property near Valle, Arizona, had been up for sale for several years. On Friday, a new owner is set take over the land.

A park spokesperson said Monday there will be a new attraction built on the land upon new ownership, but declined to go into detail on what’s next for the site.

The Arizona Republic, however, reports the new attraction will be a Raptor Ranch, where the birds of prey will be displayed between performances.

Troy Morris, who purchased the property, told the newspaper the renovated site might be open by the 2020 tourist season.

Morris said Bedrock City was the ideal location for the raptor attraction because thousands of motorists pass by the property each day.

“This was the area we’d always been looking at,” Morris, a falconer and raptor breeder, said. “I’m thrilled things are working out.”

Morris envisions a park where visitors will wander among habitats featuring eagles, falcons, hawks and other birds of prey. The highlight, he said, would be daily shows featuring the birds’ hunting prowess.

The Speckels family opened Bedrock City during the early 1970s that featured Flintstones-inspired concrete houses, a dinosaur slide, theater, restaurant and gift shop.

Morris said he would keep the dinosaur slide and will use the saber-tooth cat and woolly mammoth statues as centerpieces in a children’s playground. But the rest of the complex will be extensively remodeled.

A second Bedrock City existed in Custer, South Dakota, until 2015, when it was sold and closed down.

Justin Scarred visited Bedrock City in Arizona not long ago:

“The Flintstones” aired on ABC in prime time from 1960 to 1966, and it still shows up in reruns. Many observers noted the similarity to “The Honeymooners” of the 1950s, except  for “The Flintstones” taking place in the Stone Age.

(Image of the entrance to Bedrock City in Arizona by Shane; image of the dinosaur slide at Bedrock City by mlhradio, via Flickr)

One thought on “Bedrock City near Williams shuts down

  1. Well that is good news out of bad. It makes sense as the Flintstones were a generational thing – my kids didn’t connect with them. I hope the new theme is successful for the new owners.

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