Central City in Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Arizona's First Zoo
Photographed by Jason Voigt, October 21, 2017
1. Arizona's First Zoo Marker
This concrete trough was part of the E.A. Tovrea Memorial Zoo.
In June 1942, the Phoenix Gazette announced the opening of a zoo featuring Arizona wildlife. The small zoo housed bison (like the one pictured here) elk, deer, antelope, coyote, javalina, beavers and a variety of birds and fish. Operated by the Tovrea Packing Company, the zoo was founded as a tribute to Edward A. Tovrea, an early Phoenix industrialist.
By 1945, at the end of the second World War, the zoo had vanished. Likely causes include the zoo's then remote location, gas rationing, and downsizing in the Tovrea businesses.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 33° 26.838′ N, 111° 59.074′ W. Marker is in Phoenix, Arizona, in Maricopa County. It is in Central City. It can be reached from East Washington Street. Marker is located on the grounds of Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4619 E Washington Street, Phoenix AZ 85034, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert and in the Tohono Oodham Nation. It is also in the American Southwest. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Gadsden Purchase, and Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Papago Park's Military History (approx. 1.6 miles away); Hunt Bass Hatchery (approx. 1.8 miles away); George W. P. Hunt / Arizona's First Governor
this page online
Another marker is no longer nearby. Papago Park Prisoner of War Camp (was approx. 2.8 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Jason Voigt, October 21, 2017
2. Arizona's First Zoo Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 13, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 844 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 13, 2019, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
