Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, 3400 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

See also HABS PA-1662 & PA-1663 for other Zoological Gardens documentation.

See also field notes for HABS PA-6211 for additional documentation. Additional documentation includes photographs & drawings.

Significance: The Zoological Society of Philadelphia was incorporated in 1859, making it the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. It opened its garden to the public on July 1, 1874. The grounds have undergone constant change and renovation over the last 120 ears as the zoo adopts more progressive designs. Nevertheless, the contemporary landscape is a revealing document of zoo history, of the 19th century American park movement, and of colonial Philadelphia.

Present within its confines are an 18th century house built by John Penn, grandson to Pennsylvania's founder, William Penn; rustic architecture and landscape features from the original 19th century design scheme by Hermann Joseph Schwarzmann, engineer of the Fairmount Park Commission and architect of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876; and animal quarters dating from the 1870s to the 1990s by many of Philadelphia's most influential architects including Frank Furness, George Hewitt, Paul Cret, and Robert Venturi.

The zoo contains a living record not only of the fauna of the world but of the evolution of America's perceptions of nature. The buildings, like the landscape, record the evolution of zoo designs and the concomitant changing attitudes towards wildlife.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N336

Survey number: HABS PA-6211

Building/structure dates: 1873- 1874 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1930 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1931 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1941 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1903 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1913 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1896 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1907 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1916 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1905 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1888 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1912 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1938 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1948-1951 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1936 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1948-1954 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1967 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1973-1975 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1987 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1982 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1985 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1996 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1994 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1876 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1882 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1978 Demolished

Building/structure dates: 1987 Demolished

Building/structure dates: 1938 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1957 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72001151

zoos stone buildings brick buildings wildlife conservation exhibitions recreation zoology tuberculosis hygeine performing arts standardization restoration process children city beautiful movement anthropomorphism philadelphia gardens girard west girard avenue philadelphia county pennsylvania hygiene agoos lovera tom allen raymond granville barger ahron ben schmuel eric berg blackney and hayes bohlin cywinski jackson powell bohlin auguste cain william camac john cassin wilson catherwood john caulk mary scott cebul theophilus chandler citizens committee for a free and modern zoo civilian work administration edwin clark incorporated coe lee robinson roesch jon charles coe collins and autenrieth paul philippe cret john crump daget saylor rudolph deschauensee tom dickson william donaldson ellis yarnall family ewing cole fairmount park commission federal emergency relief administration for public work evangelos frudakis frank furness joseph greenberg hanna olin hough livingston and larson harbeson martin and white hatfield george hewitt historic american buildings survey alan holm john holland company dexter jones edward kemeys idella krause albert laessle bernard langlais john leconte lenni lenape indians jacob lipkin long and long longwood gardens staff archer lowrie mellor and meigs menke and menke rena middleton donald r miller pearson mirick henry mitchell mirick and zantzinger needler a j obard cynthia ott john penn charles penrose herman ratcliffe harry rosin herman joseph schwarzmann frank thompson us public health service ueland and junker rauch and scott brown venturi robert venturi heinz warneke a e wohert wilhelm wolf zoological society of philadelphia philadelphia zoological gardens ultra high resolution high resolution architecture 18th century aerial photographs aerial view library of congress national register of historic places

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html