The building has officially closed to the public as of today. While it was not at all an impressive building, it’s bittersweet as a lifelong zoo visitor to see it closed. It wasnt one of my personal favorites, it did once have an incredibly impressive array of species that has dwindled significantly; especially in the last decade. I have many fond memories of watching the otters swimming, the lemurs lounging, the tayras always active, the once bustling night-side full of unique creatures, all came back to me as I walked through the now nearly empty building for a final time. It truly had become a shell of its former self. And from an animal care perspective, it was lacking to say the least. Definitely the right decision for it to close and for the animals to move out. Now, like the old Australia Building, it lives only in memories.
I have very similar feelings to @Wild wolverine here -- for a long time, this was one of my favorite parts of the zoo, I loved the otter exhibit as a child, and two of my favorite memories of Milwaukee Zoo are seeing my first red panda when they were briefly held in this building while the exhibit was under construction, and seeing the night side at peak activity when it still had a ton of unique species - my only kinkajou, the potto, and so much more. If I'm honest, it was still a favorite stop even these last couple of years, even as it became apparent the building was outdated and needed replacement, as I still enjoyed watching the lorises and bush babies especially.
I'm going to miss this thing and while it's good for the zoo to move on to better things, I really hope the Latin American Tropics plans can find some small way to include a homage to it. Maybe just copy a little bit of the layout in the entrance hall, I've thought about, before turning towards the more naturalistic enclosures planned as you would have before to enter the night hall.
