The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore Photos of Maryland Zoo's Main Valley from 1990-2004?

TheGytrash said:
I'm curious to know what the building looked like from the outside! I can't find any pics! (Or even where it is geographically located on the property.)
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It's at the highest point of the zoo (possibly the highest of the city), the hilltop behind all of the Main Valley cages (there is one path leading up to it across from the playground, and a set of stairs leading up to it next to the old tiger cage, where the snowy owl is). You can see it if you go across the valley, to the base of the stairs to the Mansion, and look over the cages, especially in the winter when the trees have no leaves.

I'll have to do something about pics if there's so much interest...
 
Aardwolf said:
It's at the highest point of the zoo (possibly the highest of the city), the hilltop behind all of the Main Valley cages (there is one path leading up to it across from the playground, and a set of stairs leading up to it next to the old tiger cage, where the snowy owl is). You can see it if you go across the valley, to the base of the stairs to the Mansion, and look over the cages, especially in the winter when the trees have no leaves.

I'll have to do something about pics if there's so much interest...
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Okay, I get where you mean, that's a very helpful description. The mansion isn't a public area though :P Except for occasional events.
 
TinoPup said:
Okay, I get where you mean, that's a very helpful description. The mansion isn't a public area though :p Except for occasional events.
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No, but the staircase that leads up to it from the crane barn is on a public path. From the base of their, you should be able to see it ok. You can also see it from Buffalo Road, but not as well
 
IMG_4663.JPG Hi All- Long, long time reader here...but never got around to actually posting anything. I practically grew up at the Zoo in the 90s and have been a "lifelong member" one way or another. I always wanted to go up to the Mammal House as a kid, but no one ever wanted to walk up there with me. One time I ran up those long winding brick stairs in defiance on my own at a rather young age, got almost to the top, fell, and busted my lip wide open on the steps! Ah, memories... anyway, this photo came into my possession several years ago, and I've never seen a clearer shot of the building, so figured I'd share it here. It is dated July 7th, 1955, right about when the building opened. I have lots more photos of varying quality of the inside but as others have said, they really don't show much and are, frankly, quite depressing.

Recently, my wife and I had our delayed Wedding Reception at the Mansion House (Married in '20, finally partied in '22!). As part of this experience, we had the opportunity to take photos around the zoo prior to the reception. Ironically enough, when we booked this in 2018, we were SO excited about being "allowed" to take pictures on Main Valley after all those years! Well, between 2018-2022, Main Valley re-opened before our reception even happened! Anyway, we hit it off with the zoo guide immediately and were talking all about old zoo memories and got to poke into all kinds of cool places in and along Main Valley. I asked if we'd be allowed to go up and see the old Mammal House (figured, the worst they'll say is "no") so sure enough we got to ride up and take some photos out front. I'd rather not plaster our faces all over this website but suffice it say, the old exterior hasn't changed much. We were told it isn't too structurally sound on the inside these days (the doors were locked anyway). I walked around the building and could still see climbing structures and animal enrichment in the rooms. I also got to take some photos on the old set of steps that ascend "Druid Hill" (yes, that hill is the namesake of the whole park), and managed to do so without busting my lip this time!.....

If I may be so bold as to post another request here for a photo... I have tons of albums, scrapbooks, postcards, newspaper clippings etc. etc. etc. of so many inches of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore over the years... BUT, I've never been able to find a good clear shot of the Hippo House from the exterior. I have a few of the inside, lots of Peaches outside, but no clear straight on shots of the building's exterior, if anyone would be willing to share...
 

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The old Hippo House was located where Penguin Coast is now. It had Nile and pygmy hippos, occasionally capybara, briefly seals, and periodically wading birds and waterfowl (more for holding than exhibits). After the hippos left, the plan was to turn the site into a giant reptile house (the new penguin exhibit was supposed to be at the Main Valley), but that fell through when things went pear-shaped in 2004/2005.

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That's one of the few major 'ABC' species that isn't at either the Maryland or National Zoos. If I, someone from the DC/Baltimore area, wanted to see a hippo in an AZA zoo, I'd have to travel to Philadelphia.
 
TheGytrash said:
That's one of the few major 'ABC' species that isn't at either the Maryland or National Zoos. If I, someone from the DC/Baltimore area, wanted to see a hippo in an AZA zoo, I'd have to travel to Philadelphia.
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At least there's two choices with Philadelphia Zoo and Adventure Aquarium both having hippos, even being a 10-15 minute drive between the two locations.
 
TheGytrash said:
If I, someone from the DC/Baltimore area, wanted to see a hippo in an AZA zoo, I'd have to travel to Philadelphia.
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Could always be worse - closest Nile Hippos to me are a bit over double the driving time from Baltimore to Philly. If they went out of hippos it'd be 10 hours to reach the next closest. And in fact the average driving time from Baltimore to Philly doesn't even get me to an AZA zoo... ;)
 
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I knew I had photos somewhere... here's a pic of the seals in the hippo house. By the time I was a kid the hippo house was just hippos, maybe the capys though I don't remember them for sure. To help with the layout a little more, what is now the flamingo exhibit on the African boardwalk was originally the outdoor hippo exhibit, built as an add-on in the 1980s (at the time the pool was configured differently, without the islands for the flamingos it has now). Peaches, seen below, was the last Nile hippo at the zoo.

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The pygmy hippos were always indoors - there were plans of moving them to one of the elephant yards in the early 2000s, but those fell through and the last one was shipped instead.

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Aardwolf said:
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I knew I had photos somewhere... here's a pic of the seals in the hippo house. By the time I was a kid the hippo house was just hippos, maybe the capys though I don't remember them for sure. To help with the layout a little more, what is now the flamingo exhibit on the African boardwalk was originally the outdoor hippo exhibit, built as an add-on in the 1980s (at the time the pool was configured differently, without the islands for the flamingos it has now). Peaches, seen below, was the last Nile hippo at the zoo.

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The pygmy hippos were always indoors - there were plans of moving them to one of the elephant yards in the early 2000s, but those fell through and the last one was shipped instead.

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I thought I remember hearing from someone I knew that Peaches and Joanie were separated, I am surprised to see them together.
 
JenMainValley said:
Does anyone have any photos of the inside of the hippo house?
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The photos in the posts above you were all from the hippo house (the seals, the pygmy hippos, and the one of the Nile hippo indoors). All were taken either by the Zoo or by news reporters BTS. It was an extremely dark building and the animals were some distance away from the public, so taking pictures in there was quite difficult. I think I took a grand total of two pictures ever when I visited as a kid - cameras were all film cameras back then, so it hardly seemed worth it wasting an exposure on a shot that I knew wouldn't come out (and it certainly wouldn't have occurred to me at that age to have taken photos of the interior of the building itself to remember it by).
 
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