A Vacant Building Where Dinosaurs Once Roamed [Empty in Riverhead]

New stores and restaurants are returning to downtown Riverhead, but there are more than a handful of empty or boarded-up storefronts in the community, a sign of the hard times Riverhead, and the country, has faced.

Riverhead Patch is going to spotlight some of these vacant businesses to start a discussion in the community about what can, could or should be done to make use of the abandoned places across town and revitalize Riverhead.

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth. But just three years ago, dinosaurs were in Riverhead, as part of the Dinosaur Walk Museum, located at 221 East Main Street.

The museum, which featured a collection of prehistoric animals, first opened in June 2004, and has since expanded to branches in Tennessee (which reportedly closed in February of this year) and Missouri. However, the Riverhead location didn't last, and shuttered its doors in July 2008.

Now the 20,000 square-foot storefront of the Dinosaur Walk Museum remains empty and up for sale, with elaborate murals of prehistoric times still painted on the walls as a reminder of the exhibits that once rested inside. 

Did you ever go to the dino museum? What would you like to see done with the empty storefront? Would you support another museum, or would you rather see the property be used by a new business?