Early History
In 1872, Andrew Erkenbrecher created the "Society for the Acclimatization of Birds" in Cincinnati to acquire insect-eating birds to control a severe outbreak of caterpillars. A collection of approximately 1,000 birds imported from Europe was housed in Burnet Woods before being released. The "Acclimatization Society of Cincinnati" was established in 1873 as similar organizations with imperial aims proliferated in Moscow, Berlin, London and Melbourne in the late nineteenth century.
The Zoological Society of Cincinnati established a zoo, consisting of just over sixty-six acres in Blakely Woods. The land was purchased by Andrew Erkenbrecher and leased to the Zoological Society for ninety-nine years. This site was acquired in 1874 and the zoo officially opened its doors to the public on September 18, 1875, making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest intentionally constructed zoo in the United States. The Zoo opened with 769 animals on display. Admission was 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.
Founded by Jonathan Schoonover of Cincinnati and designed by the landscape engineer Theodor Fundeisen, The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was originally named the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. Architect James W. McLaughlin, who constructed the zoo's first buildings, designed the earliest completed zoological exhibits in the United States. The Zoo's original animal collection consisted of eight monkeys, two Grizzly Bears, three White-tailed Deer, six raccoons, two elk, an American Bison, a Spotted Hyena, an American Alligator, a circus elephant, a tiger and over four hundred birds, which included a crow. In its first 20 years, the zoo experienced many financial difficulties, and despite selling 22 acres (8.9 ha) to pay off debt in 1886, it went into receivership in 1898. The Cincinnati Traction Company purchased it in 1901 and operated the zoo for 16 years. In 1917, the Cincinnati Zoological Park Association, funded by donations from philanthropists Mary Emery and Anna Sinton Taft, took over management of the zoo. In 1932 the city purchased the zoo and today it is run through the Board of Park Commissioners.
In 1987, the zoo was designated as a National Historic Landmark due to its significant architecture featured in the Elephant House, the Reptile House, and the Passenger Pigeon Memorial. The Zoo's Reptile House is the oldest existing Zoo building in the country, dating from 1875.
Read more about this topic: Cincinnati Zoo And Botanical Garden
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