''Pegasus and Dragon'' is a tall statue of Pegasus defeating a dragon in

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for ...

, Hallandale Beach,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It is the third-tallest statue in the United States after the '' Birth of the New World'' in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

in New York. It is also the world's largest and tallest equine and

European dragon The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping culture of Europe, cultures of Europe. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem Appendix Vergiliana#Culex ("The Gnat"), ''Culex'' lines 163–201, describing a ...

statue.

Description

The Pegasus is poised with its front hoof on the neck of the dragon, which lies below the level of the equine. The statue complex is in length and in width. Pegasus is made of 330 tons of steel and 132 tons of bronze. The dragon is made of 110 tons of steel and 132 tons of bronze. Pegasus will feature a 5D dome theater in a rock formation underneath it. The dragon is surrounded by musical fountains. At night the statue is home to a fountain show featuring 13 musical pieces, 350 fog nozzles, 116 water nozzles, special LED lighting and the dragon breathing fire 20 feet during the show.

Construction

The statue, based on the ideas of Frank Stronach (whose The Stronach Group owns Gulfstream Park), was announced in 2012 as part of a long-term expansion of Gulfstream Park that also included condominiums and more grandstands for the horse racing track. In 2013 further details emerged showing that Pegasus was to be in the pose of stomping on a dragon. The German bronze casting compan
Strassacker
designed, planned and built the sculpture in cooperation with the engineering specialist Stark, the steel manufacturing company Wendeler and a Chinese bronze casting company, which was necessary to realize the high volume of bronze pieces. Construction on the site started on April 5 supervised b
Strassacker
and with Skanska overseeing construction. The statue was pre-cast and shipped in from China in 23 packing containers and the steel beams were shipped in 23 shipping containers from Germany after being made by Wendeler. The project cost $30 million. By December 6, 2014 construction of the statues was completed with work on the surrounding landscaping and water features remaining to be done in the summer of 2015. Work on lighting for the fountain show and dragon's fire breath began in late 2015. The complex opened in spring 2016.

References

{{Portal bar, Florida, Mythology, Visual arts 2014 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Florida Buildings and structures in Broward County, Florida Colossal statues in the United States Sculptures of horses Outdoor sculptures in Florida Sculptures of dragons Sculptures of classical mythology Tourist attractions in Broward County, Florida 2016 establishments in Florida Animal sculptures in Florida