What's the real history of Van Cortlandt Manor?

Way before the European settlers and way before the Native Americans - way, way before, in fact there were any people at all - dinosaurs ruled the earth and, presumably, the ground on which Van Cortlandt Manor now stands. Blaze Creative Director Michael Natiello plans to hearken back to that stone age in October with a brand-new, sure to delight display of "life-size" dinosaur skeletons. All, of course, made outta pumpkins.

Blaze Blogger caught up with Natiello today on his grand dino plan.

"It will be inspired by the landscape of the past and the creatures that lived here millions of years ago," said Natiello, "The Great Paleozoic Museum that was originally planned for Central Park in the late 19^th century, but never actually created, is also a source of inspiration."

He added, "It is my ambition to actualize Andrew Green and Benjamin Hawkins' original vision...only using jack o'lanterns to create what Andrew Green, in a letter inviting Hawkins to create the museum, called ‘a group of animals of the former periods of the American Continent."'

The dinosaur installation will feature the classic clash between T-rex and stegosaurus - depicting their exact skeletal structure - as well as some other (smaller) dinosaurs, flora, and fauna, all, of course, entirely made from pumpkins. (Shown here is Faith Butterfield, a seasoned carver, VCM interpreter, fashion designer, and seamstress, working on dino-bone carvings.)

Way, way cool if you ask me. This is a seriously ambitious installation. I hope he can pull it off...