- City:
- Idaho Falls, ID
- Site Type:
- Park Creation and Expansion, Parks and Recreation, Zoos, Landscaping and Tree Planting
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1934
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Partially Extant
Description
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 old caretaker’s house is closed and a bit bedraggled. The zoo has expanded over time, but elements of WPA works remain. The cottage-style entrance station looks suspiciously like New Deal work, as does the baseball field nearby.
Source notes
City of Idaho Falls Press Release, July 31, 2015
WPA project cards at the National Archives
Site originally submitted by Brent McKee on October 17, 2016.
Additional contributions by Joan Greer.
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