1936 Primates, Reptiles + Birds Building - Primate Exhibits

Aug. 5th, 2012.

I was just looking at a map of this zoo and it looks like two of the worst exhibits take up a large area at the centre of the zoo. Do you know if there are any plans to renovate this area?

I also just noticed something in this photo. Are they ground fans propped up on a chair a bucket and a milk crate in front of these exhibits? Was it that hot indoors?

PAT said:

I was just looking at a map of this zoo and it looks like two of the worst exhibits take up a large area at the centre of the zoo. Do you know if there are any plans to renovate this area?

I also just noticed something in this photo. Are they ground fans propped up on a chair a bucket and a milk crate in front of these exhibits? Was it that hot indoors?

Click to expand...

It does get brutally hot and humid in that part of the country in the summer when snowleopard took this picture.

PAT said:

I was just looking at a map of this zoo and it looks like two of the worst exhibits take up a large area at the centre of the zoo. Do you know if there are any plans to renovate this area?

I also just noticed something in this photo. Are they ground fans propped up on a chair a bucket and a milk crate in front of these exhibits? Was it that hot indoors?

Click to expand...

It was a scorching hot day, and even though the fans on buckets is totally amateurish at least the zoo was helping its primates deal with being locked in boiling hot cages. The Small Carnivores area, Bear Grotto zone, Asian elephant exhibit and this gargantuan 1936 building are all awful and a good chunk of the zoo is badly outdated. Little Rock is a blast from the past - fantastic animal collection but plenty of crappy enclosures.

Why do people criticize an exhibit that looks bad, even though it might be made in early 1900s.

Just, stop people. Who the h*** cares?

Charizard said:

Why do people criticize an exhibit that looks bad, even though it might be made in early 1900s.

Just, stop people. Who the h*** cares?

Click to expand...

The people who care about the animals that actually live in said exhibits.

The zoo's new master plan includes turning this building into an aquarium, with salt water on one side, fresh water on the other, and a conference/education center in the middle. Whether it will actually happen, who knows.

The 2014 Master Plan states that "primates are currently in enclosures that have become sub-standard in their size and appearance...reptiles are housed in hard-to-maintain exhibits...the appearance and use of this building in its current form sets a negative tone for the entire Little Rock Zoo". This building is due to become an "Aquatorium" (with just a few tanks) but most of the space will be utilized for visitor amenities.

most of the Little Rock Zoo buildings were WPA facilities built during the Depression.