Site of the Old Zoo

Site of the Old Zoo. Griffith Park - Los Angeles. , This area served as the City's Zoo from its founding in 1912 until 1965, when the Los Angeles Zoo moved to its current location about two miles north of where you are currently standing. , Many of the walls, grottos, and enclosures you see today were built by County Relief workers and Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews. Bears, lions, monkeys, macaws, goats, elephants, reptiles, and other species once lived here, and the sounds of their growls, roars, calls and clamor filled this canyon. , Animal welfare has thankfully come a long way, and although these historic enclosures are no longer appropriate for housing animals, they can serve as an opportunity to better understand developments in zoological sciences. , Please enjoy and respect the historic buildings, walls, and habitats you will discover today. , Topsy the Camel , As the story goes, Topsy was a Bactrian camel brought from overseas in the 1850 to serve in the United States Camel Corps. , When that program was dismantled by the US military, Topy was sent to work in coal mines until the end of the Civil War. Following this, she was sold to the Ringling Bros. Circus where she toured the country by train. , It was during this chapter of her life she was in a terrible train accident where her spine was severely damaged as well as both her humps. She recovered and went to work for film producer William Selig, where she starred in motion pictures before finally being donated to the Griffith Park Zoo in 1920. , She was an instant celebrity due to her misshapen humps. "Over the course of her 81-odd years, Topsy was an immigrant, a soldier, a builder, a miner, and a movie star. She had a hoof in everything from the US Army's ill-fated Camel Corps and the construction of what would become Route 66, to the rise of Hollywood and the circus industry. , Disney , Walt Disney was a frequent visitor to Griffith Park. He would have his animators come to the zoo to sketch animals. Observing the animals anatomy and movements would add realism to his feature animated films. In this photo you can see animators drawing a lion in front of its enclosure. Disney animators come to the zoo to draw animals today! , Ivan the Terrible , This was once home to the infamous "Ivan the Terrible," a 900-pound polar bear. , The first zoo in Los Angeles was the Eastlake Zoo in East Los Angeles, which opened in 1885. The Griffith Park Zoo opened in 1912 with a grand total of 15 animals. The new zoo was built on the site of Griffith J. Griffith's defunct ostrich farm. In the mid-1920s, film producer Willam Nicholas Selig donated many of the animals from his studios, which he had attempted to convert into an animal theme park, to the new zoo. , main photo caption: , Crowds gathered in front of small, concrete animal enclosures. Today, modern and accredited zoos prioritize animal welfare and conservation. Animal habitats are designed to support health through natural surfaces and enriching environments. , , The Old Zoo Site is a contributing element of the City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #942 awarded to Griffith Park in January, 2009.