This is the historic Stork and Ostrich House. This side is also used as summer housing for the pygmy hippos; the other side is the African Bird Safari.
Ash, the architecture of the two houses was similar, particularly if only the doors and lower walls show in the photograph, but the size of the buildings was different. I believe a rhino was housed somewhere else for a while, possibly the old cattle sheds that became a Giant Panda enclosure, but the stock and ostrich house is a relatively low building with low animal doors.
The 2 middle doors however are tall enough to house large species, and the ostrich 'paddock' ran from the two tallest doors seen in this photo out to about the where anoa paddock ended. The number of doors pictured indicate how many individual narrow runs were attached to this house. I remember Bennett's and Single-wattled Cassowary (both single animals), 1.1 Ostrich, Southern Pudu (in 2 different runs and breeding), giant tortoises, and a pair of giant anteater. Cranes and storks tended to be housed in the three outdoor enclosures which is now the african bird safari. However, during the scaling-down of the collection in the early 90s, the side of the house shown lost most of its animals, with the pens opened up into the 2 larger paddocks still seen today, the one in this photo held pudu for a while before the anoa came here, and the paddock to the right held pinioned cranes before it was joined to the old sealions pond for the pygmy hippos.
White rhinos were indeed once housed in the old Deer & Cattle Sheds at London Zoo; this white rhino accommodation was then subsequently used for the giant panda ‘Chi-Chi’.
The black rhinoceros ‘Lorna’ was also kept in the Deer & Cattle Sheds for a while; she had previously been housed in the old Antelope House.
According to the Royal Comission of the historical monuments of england for the buildings of london zoo, the elephant and rhino house on the site of the clore pavillion was there in 1893
Interesting picture, I will try to look out for this side of the house this summer. Can any of it be seen now? (I'm assuming behind the giant tortoises for example)
@FunkyGibbon Yes, you should be able to see it from the giant tortoises - part of the other end is opened up and incorporated into the tiger enclosure.
