- City:
- Royal Oak, MI
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Lodges, Ranger Stations and Visitor Centers, Paths and Trails, Zoos, Landscaping and Tree Planting, Shops and Auxiliary Buildings
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1933
- Completed:
- 1937
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
New Deal agencies undertook a variety of improvements at the Detroit Zoological Park in Royal Oak, Michigan. Between 1933 and 1937, the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and built exhibits, service facilities, and buildings at the park.
“The Federal Government, as means of alleviating the distressful unemployment condition in Detroit, appropriated funds in 1933-1934 under the CWA and the FERA for construction work at the Detroit Zoological Park. As a result, an extensive program was carried out which practically completed the western end of the park and comprised the following exhibits and activities: Completion of the American plain, enlargement of the African swamp, aoudad rock, tiger exhibit, beaver exhibit, small South American mammal exhibit, a three-section greenhouse, an addition to the machine shop, and considerable landscaping throughout the park, especially around the new exhibits, and the painting and decorating of exhibits and various equipment.” (Parks & Recreation)
Source notes
“The Detroit Zoological Park,” Parks & Recreation, July 1936.
“DZS Timeline,” Detroit Zoological Society. https://detroitzoo.org/about/your-detroit-zoo/zoo-timeline/
Site originally submitted by Gray Brechin on June 18, 2022.
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