Description: The Cincinnati Zoo is the second oldest zoo in the United States, having opened in 1875, and is located in the Avondale community. Initially occupying 65 acres, surrounding blocks and areas in nearby suburbs have been added to zoo property. Founded by Cincinnati native Jonathan Schoonover and designed by Theodor Fundeisen, it was originally named the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. The largest exhibit of the zoo was it's collection of birds, with over four hundred. The rest of the collection was small, having only eight monkeys, two bear, three deer, six racoons, two elk, and one each of buffalo, hyena, tiger, alligator and elephant. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F05_016_001
Subjects: Zoos--Ohio; Zoo exhibits--Ohio; Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, which opened in 1875, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. The zoo was originally established on just over sixty-six acres in Blakely Woods. This engraved illustration, which shows a bird's-eye view of the site, appears in Vol. I of "Historical Collections of Ohio," published by Henry Howe in 1907. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04220
Subjects: Zoos; Gardens--Ohio; Plants and Animals; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows the barless grottoes at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden in Cincinnati, Ohio. The photograph's caption reads "Modern Barless Grottoes where animals roam in surroundings similar to the African Veldt." The alternate caption reads "In these naturalistic, barless enclosures of the most modern design, roam the lions, tigers, and bears of the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, a municipal enterprise. The Zoo, on Vine Street at Erkenbrecher Avenue, is open the year round, and the animals are on display at all times. Admission: adults, 25 cents: children under twelve, 15 cents." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F09_009_1
Subjects: Zoos--Ohio; Public spaces--Ohio; Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)