What are some of the coolest zoo exhibit plans/master plans that never got built?

Correction on Jim Fowler - the new park was going to be in north Florida, not in Georgia. Since I could find no news posted on it in the last five years, I will assume it has been abandoned. He has been somewhat involvled (though not in charge?) with another Georgia animal park for a couple decades. This article from last year seems to imply that he is now trying to implement his safari park idea there instead of building a new place.

Albany Herald | Fowler wants to take visitors on safari
 
DavidBrown said:
What happened with this plan from Columbus? How is it different from the Africa plan that they are working on now, or is it pretty much the same thing?
Click to expand...

Zoo Tails: Columbus Zoo Safari Africa expansion plans revealed
If you scroll down a little you'll find the current, finalized plans for the African expansion. As you will see, they are quite different! There have been several published plans for Columbus' African expansion, and each has been with a different company. I don't know exactly what happened with all of the previous plans other than that they didn't end up working out!
 
Shirokuma said:
There were proposals (I think in the early part of the 20th century) to move London Zoo from Regents Park.

Richmond Park, a large expanse of heathland and woods with herds of deer on the south western edge of London was mentioned as a possibility as was a north London site around Hampstead and Highgate. I often ponder where they had in mind for the north London site, there is quite a lot of space around that part of the city, most notably Hampstead Heath.
Click to expand...

There was also a plan developed in 1950 by Franz A Stengelhofen to introduce moated enclosures and raised walkways to the zoo.

Plans for a new elephant house were laid out by Tecton in 1939, but sadly the outbreak of world war 2 soon brought it to a grinding halt.

Edinburgh zoo laid out a masterplan a couple of years ago, changing the face of the zoo, budgeted for around £60 million, the main bulk of the money was to be raised through a land sale, which was blocked by Edinburgh council.
Therefore the plan fell through, the council later recinded their decision, but it came too late.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Correction on Jim Fowler - the new park was going to be in north Florida, not in Georgia. Since I could find no news posted on it in the last five years, I will assume it has been abandoned. He has been somewhat involvled (though not in charge?) with another Georgia animal park for a couple decades. This article from last year seems to imply that he is now trying to implement his safari park idea there instead of building a new place.

Albany Herald | Fowler wants to take visitors on safari
Click to expand...

No, as I recall he was all over the place and Georgia was, at one point, "on his mind."
 
jbnbsn99 said:
So why would any zoo ever dream of doing a 20 or 30 year MP?
Click to expand...

Because it may guide you for 10 years and it's as much about the process of thinking things through as anything else.
Master Plans are also helpful in big Capital Campaigns to raise funds for exhibits that won't happen for 3 or 5 years.

But the world and any organization changes too much, too fast, to make a plan for decades ahead and hold to it no matter what. The director changes. The Board changes. The zoo world changes. The public changes. Once you had a staff of 150. Now you recognize you need to plan for a staff of 120. Or some clever employee comes along and promotes the idea of turning a disused part of the zoo into a big South American area! (to pick an example out of the air)
 
Shirokuma said:
There were proposals (I think in the early part of the 20th century) to move London Zoo from Regents Park.

Richmond Park, a large expanse of heathland and woods with herds of deer on the south western edge of London was mentioned as a possibility as was a north London site around Hampstead and Highgate. I often ponder where they had in mind for the north London site, there is quite a lot of space around that part of the city, most notably Hampstead Heath.
Click to expand...

It was Wembley, at that time open country but with London's spread bringing it ever closer. Good rail and road links.

Had the decision been taken, and London moved to a bigger site then Whipsnade might not have been needed.

Instead of which the Mappin Terraces were built, the First World War took place and the Empire exhibition was marked by building a stadium in what was by now a rapidly developing suburb.

The ZSL's perceived need for greater space led to it looking at a rundown farm on the edge of the Chilterns, some 40-50 miles north of London, owned by its President, the 11th Duke of Bedford. It was rather remote, very cold in the winter, but it was cheap. It was bought in 1928.

Thus did Whipsnade Zoo come into being. History is sometimes about what happens when you put off decisions.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Do you have any plans or anything?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if plans were ever officially released. The proposed space is now home to Hamadryas baboons, and reading through all the press that was written at the time indicates that the yard as it exists would have been pretty much the same. I suspect that this is why they were never brought over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top