Cincinnati Zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo started out on 66.4 acres of land on September 18, 1875, Thus becoming the second zoo in the country. Philadelphia had opened the first zoo 14 months earlier.

CINCINNATI ZOO HIGHLIGHTS

1873: At the urging of wealthy businessman Andrew Erkenbrecher the Zoological Society of Cincinnati is incorporated.
1875: The Zoo opens with 769 animals on display. Admission is 25 cents. 15 cents for children.
1877:   Zoo collection expands with the addition of an Indian rhinoceros and a California sea lion exhibit.
1888:   Zoo acquires and exhibits Mr. and Mrs. Rooney, thought to be the only chimpanzees in the nation.
1903:   Zoo opens a 3 acre buffalo range.
1906:   Elephant House opens. It went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
1914:   Martha, the world's last surviving passenger pigeon, dies.
1917:   Anna Sinton Taft and Mary Emery buy the zoo for $250,000.
1920:   Cincinnati Summer Opera (known as Zoo Opera) debuts at the Zoo.
1931:   Zoo acquires Suzie, its first gorilla.
1932:   Zoo is formally transferred to the city of Cincinnati for $325,000.
1934:   Barless lion and Tiger grottos open at a cost of $2,500.
1935:   African Veldt opens with zebras, antelopes and birds.
1938:   Children's Zoo opens.
1951:   Ape House and attached amphitheater open. Monkey House is converted to the Reptile House; the old Reptile House is converted to the Bird House.
1952:   King Tut, founder of the zoo's gorilla family, arrives.
1957:   Dr. Albert Schweitzer donates a 3-year old gorilla named Penelope.
1970:   Sam is the first gorilla born at the zoo; 8 days later, Samantha was born.
1971:   Opera leaves the zoo for Music Hall.
1975:   Big Cat Canyon opens with three 1-year old white tigers.
1975:   Zoo Academy opens.
1978:   Gorilla World and World of Insects (Insectarium) both open.
1982:   Zoo opens a cryogenics unit and begins freezing and storing embryos, eggs and semen.
1985:   Carnivora House opens.
1987:   The Cincinnati Zoological Garden is renamed Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden; the zoo is designated a National Historic Landmark.
1990:   Komodo Dragon exhibit opens.
1991:   Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) opens.
1993:   Jungle Trails, a 2 1/2-acre simulated tropical Rainforest opens.
1995:   Zoo sets a U.S. record with six gorilla births in one year, including the world's first test tube gorilla.
1996:   Renovated and expanded Bird House opens as Wings of the World.
2000:   Vanishing Giants (renovated Elephant House) and Lords of the Artic polar bear exhibit open.
2005:   Wolf Woods opens in the Spaulding Children's Zoo.

The first non-postcard image above shows a bird's-eye-view of the zoo as it looked in the beginning. The second image show various scenes of the zoo as it looked in 1878. The third shows scenes of the zoo around 1930.

The 10 images below show the zoo as it existed in 1878. They are from a zoo souvenir book.

Deer Park & Spring            Washington Ave. Entrance               Monkey House                  Aviaries & Carnivora
                                              Elephant & Buffalo House

Interior Carnivora Restaurant and Lake Sea Lion Basin Bear Pits

Camel & Deer House Pony Track

1894 Ad

This zoo map shows the growth and development of the zoo in 1952.

ENTRANCE TO ZOO

Not a postcard

Looking out from zoo entrance

For 51 years the Summer Opera, Night Concerts, and Musical Fetes were the great events of the summer season. These were held first at the bandstand and then thru the years in various structures until the Opera Pavilion was built. After the Summer Operas moved to the Music Hall this final structure was razed in 1972.

The 1st 2 cards above show the Moorish style bandstand that was built in 1889. In 1911 it was replaced by the concrete shell shown in the 4 cards below. Gibbon Island is now located at this spot.