Andersen Pea Soup Animal Park, Buellton, California

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
In the early 1970s there was a small zoo set up next to a restaurant called Andersen's Pea Soup in Buellton, California. This town is on Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

The zoo was established by Hollywood animal trainer Pat Derby and her husband. The park was designed by a former movie art director. My parents tell me that I saw this when I was very young, but I don't remember it really. Did anyone here visit the place?

I found a gallery of photos that someone posted of a family visit. The park had an Asian elephant, a raptor collection, alligators, red foxes, and guanaco from the photos. They probably had big cats and bears too since this was Pat Derby and those were species that she worked with then.

The place only lasted a couple of years. From the photos it looks like it was more than a menagerie.

Animal Park in Buellton | jim delany's scrapbook | Jim Delany
 
Yes I visited! I grew up in Los Angeles and occasionally we would do a weekend trip to Sequoia National Park. On our way up on Friday night we would stop here for dinner and look at some animals through the perimeter fence (I assume the zoo itself was closed for the day). There was also a mini train ride as I recall. Honestly I don't remember much, seems like we just saw deer or something through a fence. The restaurant itself still stands and several years ago on a visit to California I saw it off the freeway and stopped in for lunch for nostalgia sake.
 
Jerry Luther said:
I was the general manager for the park from 2-71 to 2-72 and am writing about the park in a book.
Click to expand...

That is very interesting, Jerry. Can you tell us what some of the animal highlights of the park were? The photos at the link above show an elephant, an alligator, and a boat full of animal exhibits.
 
I remember it. I was a very small child when my mom let me go in the cage with the bear. I was supposed to put a fig newton in my mouth and it would give me a "kiss" by taking the cookie. I was too little to understand and I kept eating them, though! Finally they helped me figure it out, the bear got a cookie and I got a "kiss!"
 
Not sure what year it was, my family used to go to the petting zoo and I would feed the black bear they had by putting a cookie in my mouth, the bear would come up take it out with his mouth, kinda messy lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top