It is indeed a great view and I think the canyons of San Diego Zoo are an asset. If you read the centennial books that came out recently, you will learn the city viewed them as a liability. The original animal cages from the Pan-American Exhibition (which became the zoo) were on a flatter parcel of land. But when the zoo wanted to expand the city did not want to give them the prime property, so the zoo society asked for the large parcel here which they were granted because the steep canyons were deemed of low value.
