Zoos Sites

'Work consisted of grading 114,600 cubic yards for underground pump house, underpass, paths, paddocks, lakes and lagoons; placing 6,600 cubic yards of red rock surfacing on paths; building 123,000 square feet of rustic rubble face to slopes of paths; spreading 20,000 cubic yards loam, installing 18 inch culverts, 18,400 feet of sewer, 13,100 feet of irrigation system and 4 pumps; construction of underground reinforced concrete pump house of 315 cubic yards, 150 cubic yards concrete under-pass, concrete wall, moat slab and coping around animal island of 485 cubic yards and landscaping. This improvement contributed to make these gardens unique among...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the stone gateway and wall, of the San Francisco Zoo.

The Works Progress Administration built the Monkey Island at the San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco CA.

The Works Progress Administration and the Federal Works Agency funded and built the South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary at the San Francisco Zoo in 1940. The structure was originally an aquatic birdhouse. Now it serves as an aviary.  

The Works Progress Administration built cages for, and landscaped the grounds of, the Bird and Animal Sanctuary in Shade Swamp CT, circa 1937. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a log and shingle shelter in 1934. The structure is is still on site and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Shade Swamp Bird and Animal Sanctuary is still extant, but the site is abandoned.

The Clarence T. Barrett Park Zoo (also known as Staten Island Zoo) is located in Barrett Park, on the former estate grounds of Colonel Edward Hardin. After Hardin's wife willed the property to the city in the early 1930s, it was developed into a zoo with New Deal support: "When construction began in 1933-34, the zoo's plans were state of the art. Parks used New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps labor to help build the $150,000 facility. The exhibits and the zoo's care for its animals were modern for their time and helped the institution avoid some of the trouble other city...

"In 1929 the city of Manhattan purchased land called Sunset Cemetery. Part of the land was unusable to bury people in because of too rocky soil. This area then became Sunset Zoo. Until 1934, the Zoo was not chartered as a park; but there were animals at the Zoo as early as 1930. The Zoo, however, holds 1933 as the founding year. The zoological park has served the community for over 70 years, providing a cultural and educational examination of the natural world. Dr. E.J. Frick, zoo founder and former head of surgery and medicine at the Kansas State University School...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped develop Tautphaus Park and Zoo in Idaho Falls, Idaho around 1935-36. A 2015 Idaho Falls city press release states: "In 1934, the city of Idaho Falls purchased land in Tautphaus Park, then called 'City Park,' and in 1935 the first zoo animals were brought to the park. Log buildings were erected throughout the park and financed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project.  Some of these buildings can still be seen on zoo grounds and now serve as an education center and a storage barn." The rustic style buildings are still in the park, though the...

"The Toledo Zoo is home to several buildings that were constructed during this time, including the Reptile House, the Amphitheatre, the Museum of Science, the Aquarium, and the Aviary. Not only are these buildings still in use, most of them are still being used for their original purpose. The construction of the Zoo’s WPA buildings got underway in 1933, with the Reptile House. In addition to the Moorish and Spanish influences that give the building a rustic charm, the Reptile House is remarkable in that it is constructed almost entirely from salvaged materials. The brick, stone and timber were brought in...

The Reptile House was the first of five buildings constructed by the WPA at the Toledo Zoo. These buildings are still in use today. FAP artist Forrest "Woody" LaPlante was one of three muralists who painted botanical backgrounds in each reptile exhibit. Most of these murals were destroyed in the 1970s, but the remaining murals were restored by LaPlante in the 1990s. The building was constructed from materials recycled from local areas, such as the Wabash Railroad shops and the former Miami and Erie canals. The architecture of the building was inspired by Spanish and Moorish styles in reference to the city's...

The refectory building at the Tulsa Zoological Garden was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935. It was one of many New Deal projects undertaken in Oklahoma that “aimed to improve America’s public lands and parks” and “help lift the country out of the Great Depression.” The former refectory building has gone through many uses at the zoo and has recently been refurbished to serve as a public event space. “Originally designed as a refectory (gathering place to eat) this structure has served many purposes in its 86-year history. Once as a zoo entrance and concession area it also became...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the University of Cincinnati: Student Union Building in Cincinnati OH in Cincinnati OH. The building was fireproof and had central heating. It contained the University Book Store, a lunge, a 700-seat dining hall, and private dining rooms. The project was completed in October of 1937. The construction cost was $564,005 and the total cost was $599,747.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) had a great impact on War Memorial Park. "During the 1930s the original zoo buildings, the golf clubhouse, the bathhouse and the swimming pool were constructed by WPA workers." The W.P.A. likely undertook other construction projects at the project as well, such as stone walls and the 1940 bridge carrying "Club House Drive" over Coleman Creek.

The Washington Park Zoo is thought to be the only zoo completely designed and landscaped by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and its predecessor agencies (FERA – Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and CWA – Civil Works Administration.) It spans across 15 acres on a hilly sand dune in Michigan City, IN, close to the southeastern tip of Lake Michigan and to this day houses more than 220 animals of 90 different species from around the world. Planning for a zoo board first began when Albert R. Couden was appointed city manager in 1928. He hoped the zoo would work as a...

The WPA constructed new buildings and made improvements to existing zoo facilities. They built a new elephant house. The zoo no longer exists at this location.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding and labor for numerous improvement projects at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo during the New Deal period. The initial projects were completed in 1933. In the following years, dozens of additional projects resulted in significant upgrades to the zoo's infrastructure and animal quarters. Work on the zoo continued until late 1941, when the United States entered World War II. The first New Deal projects at the zoo were completed through the CWA in 1933 and 1934. These included the construction of new sewers, walkways, and fences in various parts...

"The zoo was upgraded in the late 1930s, at an estimated cost of $100,000.00 with Federal Works Project Administration (WPA) labor and money and Texas Centennial bond money. An extensive system of concrete and natural stone bridges, park houses, winding walks, hillside stairways, and retaining walls along the creek banks were added. The WPA projects included new monkey cages, large animal dens and paddocks, and wild fowl cages. There was also a new building that served as both commissary offices and an entrance." (dallaszoo.com)