Central Park Zoo
Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox zoo The Central Park Zoo is a Template:Convert zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Central Park Zoo's operations, the WCS offers children's educational programs, is engaged in restoration of endangered species populations, and reaches out to the local community through volunteer programs.
Its precursor, a menagerie, was founded in 1864, becoming the first public zoo to open in New York. The present facility first opened as a city zoo on December 2, 1934, and was part of a larger revitalization program of city parks, playgrounds and zoos initiated in 1934 by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) commissioner Robert Moses. It was built, in large part, through Civil Works Administration and Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor and funding. The Children's Zoo opened to the north of the main zoo in 1960, using funding from a donation by Senator Herbert Lehman and his wife Edith.
After 49 years of operation as a city zoo run by NYC Parks, Central Park Zoo closed in 1983 for reconstruction. The closure was part of a five-year, $35 million renovation program, that completely replaced the zoo's cages with naturalistic environments. It was rededicated on August 8, 1988, as part of a system of five facilities managed by the WCS, all of which are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).Template:Efn
DescriptionEdit
Template:Central Park map The Central Park Zoo is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an integrated network of four zoos and an aquarium spread throughout New York City.Template:Efn Located at East 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, the zoo is situated on a Template:Convert<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> plot in Central Park. Visitors may enter through the Fifth Avenue entrance or from within Central Park.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" />
The Central Park Zoo is a major tourist attraction within Central Park, drawing more than one million people every year. According to a 2011 study by the Central Park Conservancy, the zoo and its surroundings were visited by an estimated four million people each year.<ref name="Conservancy Public Use Rpt">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp However, the WCS cites much lower figures since it only counts patrons with tickets. In 2007, it recorded that 1.01 million people visited the Central Park Zoo,<ref name="AnnualReport2007">Template:Cite journal</ref> and in 2006, 1.03 million people.<ref name="AnnualReport">Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:As of, the Central Park Zoo had 1,487 animals representing 163 species.<ref name="AnnualReport20162">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Main zooEdit
Trellised, vine-clad, glass-roofed pergolas link the three major exhibit areas—tropic, temperate and polar—housed in discrete buildings of brick trimmed with granite, masked by vines.<ref name="Goldberger 1988">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kinkead">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The exhibit areas are centered around a square central garden that contains a square sea lion pool in its center.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The sea lion pool is surrounded by glass fencing to allow visitors to observe the sea lions and their daily feedings.<ref name="Conservancy Zoo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Exhibits and other buildingsEdit
The structure at the central garden's southwestern corner is the "Tropic Zone",<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> which contains a two-story representation of a rain forest. The rain forest contains Rodrigues flying foxes, Seba's short-tailed bats, emerald tree boas, pythons, cotton-top tamarins, white-eared titis, toucans, black-and-white ruffed lemurs from the Bronx Zoo and a large variety of birds including scarlet ibis, emerald starlings, superb starlings, pied avocets, speckled mousebirds, sunbittern, troupials, Taveta golden weaver, blue-crowned motmots, crested couas, blue-gray tanagers, African pygmy goose, ochre-marked parakeets, white-fronted amazons, blue-headed macaws, plum-headed parakeets, Derbyan parakeets, Fischer's lovebirds, golden conures, red bird-of-paradise, superb bird-of-paradise, Nicobar pigeons, black-naped fruit doves, green peacocks, Victoria crowned-pigeons, coroneted fruit doves, kagus, blue-and-yellow and green winged macaws. The zoo also keeps piranhas, pig-nosed turtles, and red-footed tortoises. There is also a large free-flight area for birds.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp The elephant house of the original menagerie was formerly located at the site.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
To the west of the garden is the "Temperate Territory", a landscaped series of paths surrounding a lake.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> It hosts animals such as red pandas, white-naped cranes, snow monkeys, and snow leopards.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp A snow leopard exhibit in the Temperate Territory opened in June 2009.<ref name="Rothstein 2009">Template:Cite news</ref> The Temperate Territory is located on the site of the 1934 zoo's cafeteria.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
The northern side of the garden is adjacent to the "Penguins and Sea Birds" section.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> This multilevel structure contains a chilled penguin house that contains macaroni penguins, king penguins, chinstrap penguins, gentoo penguins, Atlantic puffins, tufted puffins and an outdoor pool with harbor seals, as well as an outdoor grizzly bear exhibit.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp It is located on the site of a lion house that was built in 1934 along with the original menagerie.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
The eastern side of the central garden is next to the Arsenal, technically located outside the zoo.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> The structure was completed in 1851 and originally intended as a weapons and ammunition storehouse for the New York State Militia. It once served as an actual zoo building, but now contains NYC Parks Department offices.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Central Park Zoo also includes a 4D theater,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> located to the north of the Arsenal,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> while a gift shop and ticket booth are located to the south of the Arsenal.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" />
The southern side of the garden contains the Intelligence Garden,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> located at the site of the original menagerie's horned animal/small mammal house. Its name is inspired by a rare-animal menagerie created by King Wen of Zhou in 1100 B.C.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp A cafeteria, the Dancing Crane Cafe,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> is located to the south of the Intelligence Garden.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
Art and conservation programsEdit
Several works of public art can be found in the Central Park Zoo. Five structures, preserved from the original zoo built in 1934,Template:Efn still feature their original animal-themed limestone friezes sculpted by Frederick Roth.<ref name="Conservancy Zoo" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same artist created a pair of bronze statues for the original zoo, Dancing Goat and Dancing Bear, which now flank the zoo's southern entrance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tigress and Cubs, one of the park's oldest statues, was created by Auguste Cain in 1867 and installed on a rock outcrop near the Lake, but moved to the zoo in 1934.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The zoo coordinates breeding programs for some endangered species as part of the Species Survival Plan, such as thick-billed parrots<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and red pandas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2011, the WCS announced that the Central Park Zoo was the first North American zoo to hatch ducklings of critically endangered scaly-sided mergansers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, the first example of whispering in non-human primates was observed at the Central Park Zoo in 2013, when tamarin monkeys were heard whispering around a staff member that they disliked.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The zoo hosts educational venues as well as exhibits. The volunteer program at the Central Park Zoo engages members of the community; it is a combination outreach and educational program for adults. Volunteer guides conduct tours for visitors, while volunteer docents augment the educational program. Docents enroll in a four-month training program.<ref name="docenttrain">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo also offers several programs for students.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Children's ZooEdit
The Children's Zoo is located north of the main zoo.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> It is officially named the Tisch Children's Zoo after businessman Laurence A. Tisch, whose donation funded the zoo's 1990s renovation.<ref name="Miller 1997">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Los Angeles Times 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> The Children's Zoo contains a petting zoo with mini nubian goats (a crossbreed between Nigerian dwarf and Nubian goats), sheep, pigs, alpacas, Patagonian cavies, and the only cow in Manhattan, as well as the Acorn Theatre, a performing arts theater.<ref name="Conservancy Zoo" /><ref name="www.centralpark.com 2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Admission to the Children's Zoo is included with the purchase of tickets to the main zoo.<ref name="www.centralpark.com 2017" />
The Lehman Gates by Paul Manship are a notable feature retained from the original Children's Zoo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They were donated by Herbert and Edith Lehman in 1960 in honor of their 50th anniversary, and as part of their donation toward the construction of the Children's Zoo itself.<ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015" /> The gates were renovated in the 1980s.<ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015" /><ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp Additionally, the Delacorte Clock, a gift of George T. Delacorte dedicated in 1965, is mounted on a three-tiered tower above the arcade between the Wildlife Center and the Children's Zoo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
Original menagerieEdit
Planning and creationEdit
The zoo was not part of the original Greensward Plan for Central Park created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar">Template:Cite Central Park History</ref>Template:Rp However, a menagerie near the Arsenal, on the edge of Central Park located at Fifth Avenue facing East 64th Street, spontaneously evolved from gifts of exotic pets and other animals informally given to the park.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp<ref name="Newman 2014">Template:Cite news</ref> The first animal, a bear cub tied to a tree, was left in Central Park in 1859, followed by a monkey the next year. These animals were popular with the park's visitors even though there was no formal zoo at the time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon, people began donating other animals such as cranes, a peacock, and goldfish.<ref name="Newman 2014" /> Unsolicited donations came from a variety of people, from prominent figures to young boys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The donations also included dead animals.<ref name="NYC Parks Annual Report 1864">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp The Central Park planning commission recorded all of these donations in its annual reports.<ref name="Newman 2014" />
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The American Zoological and Botanical Society, which sought to create a zoo somewhere in New York City, was created in early 1860.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The group began discussing possible sites for a zoo, among them Central Park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By 1862, Template:Convert were set aside for the construction of a future "zoological and botanical garden", later the Central Park Zoo.<ref name="NYC Parks Annual Report 1862">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp However, since the zoo's site was not yet formally designated, the animals were kept in the Central Park Mall.<ref name="Newman 2014" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Popular animals included three bald eagles and a bald-headed monkey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1864, a formal zoo received charter confirmation from New York's assembly, making it the United States' second publicly owned zoo, after the Philadelphia Zoo, which was founded in 1859.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By then, the park had over 400 animals.<ref name="Newman 2014" /> More than 250 animals would be donated in 1864–1865 alone.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp
Originally the zoo was supposed to be located in Manhattan Square, on the west side of Central Park where the American Museum of Natural History is now located, though this location was never used as a zoo.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp Up to twelve sites would eventually be considered for the zoo throughout the last three decades of the 19th century, including the North Meadow of Central Park.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp Some animals were moved to the Arsenal in 1865, and larger animals grazed there during summers. A "deer park" was established at the current site of the Metropolitan Museum of Art three years later.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /> In 1870, when the Tammany Hall political organization took control of the Central Park commission, it mandated that the Central Park menagerie buy its own animals rather than accept donations, and it moved the animals to five structures behind the Arsenal.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp The same year, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins sculpted dinosaur figures for the Paleozoic Museum, a proposed dinosaur museum near the zoo, but they were destroyed in a fit of vandalism<ref name="Chan 2008" /> that the Geologists' Association described as "perplexing".<ref name="curious">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Popularity and declineEdit
The menagerie became popular because of its free admission and proximity to working-class Lower Manhattan; by 1873, it saw 2.5 million annual visitors.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp The first permanent menagerie building was constructed behind the Arsenal in 1875.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The menagerie reached peak popularity in the mid-1880s after a chimpanzee nicknamed "Mike Crowley" was imported from Liberia. Observers such as former president Ulysses S. Grant showed up at the Monkey House to see the chimpanzee, overfilling the building past capacity.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp However, Irish-American groups took offense to the chimpanzee's nickname, saying that the names given to animals in the Central Park menagerie were stereotypically Irish, and thus derogatory to that ethnic group.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp<ref name="Bayor Meagher 1997 p. 284">Template:Cite book</ref> Frederick Law Olmsted also disapproved of the menagerie, believing Central Park to be better suited for scenic vistas than for entertainment, though he admitted that the zoo was the most popular part of the park.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp
By the 1890s, wealthy residents of nearby neighborhoods were clamoring for the zoo to be relocated somewhere else, such as the North Meadow. However, these efforts met resistance, as the Central Park menagerie was popular among the general public and among the politicians that represented them.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp This subsequently led to the creation of the Bronx Zoo, a much larger, privately operated zoo in the Bronx in 1897.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Though wealthy residents hoped that people would travel to the Bronx Zoo for its superior facilities, the Central Park Zoo continued to be popular even after the Bronx Zoo opened in 1899.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp The Central Park menagerie attracted over three million people annually by 1902, more than the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum combined, despite only receiving one-fifth as much money as either of the museums.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp
Through the early 20th century, the quality of the menagerie declined through neglect from the city government, which administered the zoo. The zoo accepted creatures of all kinds, even those with health problems, but offered insufficient veterinary care.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp In 1919, some of the structures at the Central Park menagerie were modified to accommodate the addition of new animals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Subsequently, in 1932, a new concrete structure was built for the zoo's wolves because the previous steel enclosure was deemed insufficient to contain the wolves.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By then, the zoo was extremely rundown, and its 22 cages were regarded as "flimsy and rat-ridden".<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp The wooden sheds posed a fire hazard, and the enclosures were so ineffective that zookeepers guarded the lion house to prevent the lions from escaping.<ref name="New York Daily News 1934">Template:Cite news</ref>
Current zooEdit
Construction of new zooEdit
After assuming office in January 1934, New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia hired Robert Moses to head a newly unified Parks Department. Moses soon prepared extensive plans to reconstruct the city's parks, renovate existing facilities and create new swimming pools, zoos, playgrounds and parks. Moses acquired substantial Civil Works Administration, and later, Works Progress Administration funding and soon embarked upon an eight-year citywide construction program, relieving some of the high unemployment in New York City in this Depression year.<ref name="NYCParks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Plans for the new Central Park Zoo were prepared by Aymar Embury II within a 16-day span in February 1934<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and were announced the following month. Embury's plans called for nine terracotta and brick structures to replace the structures in the menagerie.<ref name="The New York Times 1934">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=p1240112626>Template:Cite news</ref> These structures included seven new animal enclosures, as well as a comfort station and a garage.<ref name="The New York Times 1934" />Template:Efn A sea lion pool, designed by Charles Schmieder,<ref name="Chan 2008">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was to be located in the center of the new zoo, surrounded by the zoo enclosures on three sides.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp The new structures were designed in such a way that they could be maintained easily.<ref name="The New York Times 1973">Template:Cite news</ref> The buildings, to cost $411,000, were designed in conjunction with new enclosures at the Prospect Park Zoo.<ref name="The New York Times 1934" />
The reconstruction of the zoo was initially criticized by individuals who thought that the money spent on building a zoo would be better utilized on the construction of new schools around the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the reconstruction, the previous structures were entirely demolished.<ref name="New York Daily News 1934" /> While construction was ongoing, animals were temporarily moved to other zoos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The rebuilt zoo opened on December 2, 1934,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> at a ceremony where former governor Al Smith was given the honorary title of "night superintendent".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By April 1936, the renovated zoo had seen six million visitors since its reopening.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To prevent the recurrence of rat infestations, Moses also instituted a rat-elimination program in and around the zoo.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
1960s and 1970sEdit
In June 1960, U.S. Senator Herbert Lehman and his wife Edith donated $500,000 toward the construction of a new children's zoo just north of the existing zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Work began that November,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the children's zoo was officially opened on June 27, 1961.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The children's zoo featured attractions like a petting area with ducks, rabbits, and chickens; a large fiberglass whale statue dubbed "Whaley" (which acted as the entrance to the small zoo); a Noah's Ark feature; and a medieval castle feature.<ref name="Bloom 1995">Template:Cite news</ref> The animals were housed in small storybook-style structures bordering an irregular pond.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp By 1967, the wooden railings around the main zoo's enclosures were rotting, and NYC Parks commissioner August Heckscher II had authorized repairs to these railings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, the zoo cafeteria was renovated after a new concessionaire took control of the cafe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the New York City Subway's 63rd Street lines, the present-day Template:NYCS trains, were being built directly underneath the zoo.<ref name="Burks 1970">Template:Cite news</ref> A graffiti wall was erected along the line's length through Central Park. The tunnel provided a subterranean gathering place for very early subway artists who hung around together in Central Park, and was named Zoo York by ALI, founder of the SOUL ARTISTS graffiti crew. The name came about because it was in a zoo in New York, hence "Zoo York".<ref name="Mervyn 1974">Template:Cite book</ref> The construction of the subway line itself was controversial because it called for Template:Convert of cut-and-cover tunneling, which required digging an open trench through Central Park and then covering it over.<ref name="Burks 1970" /> One of the concerns was that the Central Park Zoo, and a bird sanctuary outside the zoo, were located very close to the boundary of the trench.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eventually, the New York City Transit Authority, which operated the New York City Subway, agreed to reduce disruption by halving the length of the cut.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A nature kiosk at Central Park Zoo was added in 1972,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a $500,000 renovation for the Lion House was proposed the following year.<ref name="The New York Times 1973" /> By then, the Central Park Zoo was quite dilapidated: in November 1974, protesters gathered outside the zoo to protest the conditions there.<ref name="The New York Times 1975" /> NYC Parks commissioner Gordon Davis described the zoo as a "Rikers Island for animals".<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988">Template:Cite news</ref> Even so, the zoo was one of the most popular attractions in Central Park through the 1980s, according to surveys taken during that era.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
Around the same time, there was a plan to shift control of the Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos from the city government to the New York Zoological Society, a quasi-public conservation organization. At the time, none of the zoos had dedicated curatorial staff and all had only a skeletal zookeeping staff.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The society proposed sending the larger animals to different zoos with more humane conditions,<ref name="The New York Times 1975">Template:Cite news</ref> and animal-rights groups sued the city in an effort to close the two zoos and move the animals to the larger Bronx Zoo.<ref name="Fowler 1976">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A 1976 report by the World Federation for the Protection of Animals found that all three zoos were operating in "shameful conditions", and that the animals at the Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos were living in poorly maintained facilities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1980s renovationEdit
The administration of mayor Ed Koch and the New York Zoological Society (renamed the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, in 1993<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) signed a fifty-year agreement in April 1980, wherein the Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos would be administered by the Society.<ref name="n154003170">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NYZooTakeOver">Template:Cite news</ref> They proposed renovation plans for all three zoos in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Carmody 1982" /> The Central Park Zoo's renovation plan called for the demolition of five of the six structures around the sea lion pool (except for the Arsenal), as well as new classrooms and auditoriums for students, and a snack bar to replace the zoo's concessions.<ref name="English 1982">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Carmody 1982" /> The New York Times reported that "the caging of these animals in inadequate spaces has long enraged animal lovers."<ref name="Carmody 1982">Template:Cite news</ref> Starting in November 1982, the Central Park Zoo's animals were temporarily moved to other zoos while construction was ongoing. Most of the large animals were permanently rehoused in larger, more natural spaces at the Bronx Zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo had three "problem animals" that few other zoos wanted to take,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but even they found homes.<ref name="Kinkead" />Template:Rp
The main zoo was closed in late 1983,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though the children's zoo remained open.<ref name="New York Daily News 1985">Template:Cite news</ref> Demolition continued through 1984, though construction on the new zoo did not begin until the following year.<ref name="Chan 2008" /> The subsequent redesign was executed by Kevin Roche of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo Associates. The facility's menagerie cages were replaced with three naturalistic habitats that blended with Central Park's scenery.<ref name="English 1982" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Four of the original buildings were preserved in the redesigned zoo, though the cramped outdoor cages were demolished. The central feature of the original zoo, the sea lion pool, was retained.<ref name="New York Daily News 1985" /><ref name="Goldberger 1988" />
The renovation was originally budgeted at $8.3 million.<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988" /> The renovated zoo was then planned to reopen in 1985 at a cost of $14 million, but the project was delayed for three years. The zoo reopened to the public on August 8, 1988. The renovation ended up costing $35 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of this, the city contributed $22 million while the Society contributed the balance.<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988" /> In order to pay for the zoo construction, the Society started charging admission for zoo patrons for the first time in the zoo's history.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />Template:Rp With the reopening of the Central Park Zoo, the Society aimed to designate each of its three small zoos with a specific purpose. The Central Park Zoo would be focused toward conservation; the Prospect Park Zoo would be primarily a children's zoo; and the Queens Zoo would become a zoo with North American animals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1990s to presentEdit
By the early 1990s, some of the structures at the Children's Zoo had collapsed, and there were reports that the animals were being neglected. Under threat of closure by federal regulators, the city closed the zoo in 1991. Though the WCS had a plan to renovate the zoo, it languished for years because the restoration needed approval from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which had designated several zoo buildings as landmarks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Furthermore, there were disputes over what the theme of the renovated Children's Zoo should be.<ref name="Bloom 1995" /> The $6 million plan to renovate the Children's Zoo was approved by the LPC in 1996, though it was opposed by preservationists who wanted to prevent the zoo's structures from demolition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The renovation was initially supposed to be funded by $3 million from Henry and Edith Everett, but the Everetts withdrew their gift due to disputes over how the money should be spent.<ref name="Miller 1997" /> With the help of a $4.5 million grant from businessman Laurence A. Tisch,<ref name="Los Angeles Times 2003" /> the Children's Zoo was renovated and renamed the Tisch Children's Zoo upon its reopening in September 1997.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2009, the Allison Maher Stern Snow Leopard Exhibit opened with three snow leopards, moved from the Bronx Zoo. The exhibit, costing $10.6 million, was the first new feature in the zoo since its 1988 renovation.<ref name="Rothstein 2009" /> In March 2020, the Central Park Zoo and the WCS's other facilities were shuttered indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.<ref name="nyt-2020-04-03">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo reopened that July.<ref name="ABC7 New York 2020 k154">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Davenport 2020 g193">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HoaxEdit
A famous hoax regarding the zoo is known as the Central Park Zoo escape and the Central Park menagerie scare of 1874.<ref name="BartholomewRadford2011">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="fame1893">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp It was a hoax perpetrated by James Gordon Bennett Jr. in his newspaper, the New York Herald. J. I. C. Clarke was the primary writer of the hoax, under the direction and inspiration of the HeraldTemplate:'s managing editor, T. B. Connery, who often walked through the zoo, and had witnessed the near-escape of a leopard.<ref name=fame1893 /> The HeraldTemplate:'s cover story of November 9, 1874, claimed that there had been a mass escape of animals from the Central Park Zoo and that several people had been killed by the free-roaming beasts. A rhinoceros was said to be the first escapee, goring his keeper to death and setting into motion the escape of other animals, including a polar bear, a panther, a Numidian lion, several hyenas, and a Bengal tiger.<ref name="Sides">Template:Cite book</ref>
At the end of the lengthy article, which was divided across several pages of the newspaper, the following notice was the only indication that the story horrifying readers across the city was a hoax: "... of course, the entire story given above is a pure fabrication. Not one word of it is true."<ref name="Masoff2006">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Wallace2000">Template:Cite book</ref> That was not enough to assuage critics, however, who accused Bennett of inciting panic when the extent of the hoax became widely known.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The authors later claimed their intent was merely to draw attention to inadequate safety precautions at the zoo, and claimed to be surprised at the extent of the reaction to their story.<ref name=fame1893 /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notable animalsEdit
- In the early 20th century, Bill Snyder was hired at the zoo; he purchased Hattie, an Asian elephant, in 1920.<ref name="most">Template:Cite news</ref> Hattie died in 1922.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Pattycake, a female western lowland gorilla, was born at the zoo in 1972 and was thus the first gorilla successfully born in captivity in New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her handlers assumed she was a male and originally named her "Sonny Jim".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She moved to the Bronx Zoo in 1982,<ref name="stud">Template:Cite journal</ref> where she remained until her death in 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Gus, a male polar bear, lived at the zoo from 1988 to 2013, when he had to be euthanized after being diagnosed with an inoperable tumor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl, was taken to the zoo in 2010.<ref name="Pisani-2023">Template:Cite news</ref> Flaco escaped when his enclosure was damaged in 2023;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> he was found dead outside the park in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In mediaEdit
The Central Park Zoo is depicted in the 2005 animated film Madagascar as the place from which the main characters escaped.<ref name="Cribbs 2023 p. 95">Template:Cite book</ref>
ReferencesEdit
NotesEdit
CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Template:Cite news (original hoax story)
External linksEdit
- Template:Official website
- Scheier, Joan. "Introduction to The Central Park Zoo". Central Park Zoo.
- Central Park Zoo on zooinstitutes.com