Saint Louis Zoo has a wonderful history, dating from its 1910 opening to the present day. Amazingly, it has remained a free zoo for the duration of its existence, and today it is recognized as one of the very best zoos in the United States. With more than 3 million annual visitors, it's also one of the most popular zoos in America.
The earliest zoo map in the ZooChat gallery is from 1973, shown below. The zoo's iconic historic structures are all present, including the 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage, the 1925 Primate House, the 1927 Reptile House (which included a Small Mammal Wing at the time), the 1930 Bird House and the 1935 Antelope House, all of which remain 50 years after the publication of this map. Most of those buildings are around a century old and they are still highlights of any zoo visit.
The zoo had an (African) Elephant House, an Aquatic House (penguins and walruses), a series of 'Bear Pits' and the legendary 'Red Rocks' ungulate zone on the right hand side of the map. There was also an Elephant Arena, a Chimpanzee Arena (with chimps fully dressed in clothes) and a Seal Arena.
Two years later, the 1975 map includes at least one Elephant Seal in the Seal Basin area, as well as a 'Hydroponics Building'. The next year would see the Aquatic House get an overhaul and also Big Cat Country would make its debut.
By 1978 the Aquatic House now included Baikal Seals. The Primate House had just been renovated the year before and 1978 saw the Herpetarium also undergo a renovation.
River's Edge was a monumental addition to the zoo and it opened in stages, with Phase 1 beginning in 1999. Here's what it looked like in 2008:
The map below is from 2010, showing a much changed zoo from the late 1970s era. Gone are the circus-like animal shows, with the zoo being formed into 6 distinct zones. After a relatively quiet 1980s period, like so many other American zoos, things took off for Saint Louis in the 1990s and beyond. The zoo built a Bird Garden (1996) with approximately 10 outdoor aviaries next to the historic Bird House, a brand-new Children's Zoo (1998), a world-class Insectarium (2000), the enormous River's Edge complex, Penguin & Puffin Coast (2003), a reimaging of the famous Flight Aviary into Cypress Swamp (2004) and Fragile Forest (2005) gave the zoo's great ape trio (Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees) splendid new outdoor habitats. Between 1996 to 2005, the zoo built an incredible number of projects that elevated the status of the facility.
The zoo opened the brilliant Sea Lion Sound in 2012 and this 2014 map shows yet another expansion of River's Edge, which would result in African Wild Dogs, Sun Bears and Andean Bears all added to that area of the zoo.
All of which brings us to 2023 and the zoo has continued to thrive. Polar Bear Point (2015) and Grizzly Ridge (2017) saw the zoo modernize its old bear grottoes, while Primate Canopy Trails (2021) saw outdoor exhibits added to the Primate House for the first time ever. The zoo has very little else that needs updating, and at the present time I would personally rank it behind only San Diego and Omaha in the USA.
Future plans include a 2.8-acre 'Destination Discovery' Children's Zoo that will cost $40 million and is set to tentatively open in 2026. Here is a rendering:
The most exciting news is the plan for a brand-new, separate safari park-type zoo, set to open in 2027. It's got an odd name (WildCare Park) but with 425 acres/172 hectares of space, and around $230 million in funding, anticipation is high.
The earliest zoo map in the ZooChat gallery is from 1973, shown below. The zoo's iconic historic structures are all present, including the 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage, the 1925 Primate House, the 1927 Reptile House (which included a Small Mammal Wing at the time), the 1930 Bird House and the 1935 Antelope House, all of which remain 50 years after the publication of this map. Most of those buildings are around a century old and they are still highlights of any zoo visit.
The zoo had an (African) Elephant House, an Aquatic House (penguins and walruses), a series of 'Bear Pits' and the legendary 'Red Rocks' ungulate zone on the right hand side of the map. There was also an Elephant Arena, a Chimpanzee Arena (with chimps fully dressed in clothes) and a Seal Arena.
Two years later, the 1975 map includes at least one Elephant Seal in the Seal Basin area, as well as a 'Hydroponics Building'. The next year would see the Aquatic House get an overhaul and also Big Cat Country would make its debut.
By 1978 the Aquatic House now included Baikal Seals. The Primate House had just been renovated the year before and 1978 saw the Herpetarium also undergo a renovation.
River's Edge was a monumental addition to the zoo and it opened in stages, with Phase 1 beginning in 1999. Here's what it looked like in 2008:
The map below is from 2010, showing a much changed zoo from the late 1970s era. Gone are the circus-like animal shows, with the zoo being formed into 6 distinct zones. After a relatively quiet 1980s period, like so many other American zoos, things took off for Saint Louis in the 1990s and beyond. The zoo built a Bird Garden (1996) with approximately 10 outdoor aviaries next to the historic Bird House, a brand-new Children's Zoo (1998), a world-class Insectarium (2000), the enormous River's Edge complex, Penguin & Puffin Coast (2003), a reimaging of the famous Flight Aviary into Cypress Swamp (2004) and Fragile Forest (2005) gave the zoo's great ape trio (Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees) splendid new outdoor habitats. Between 1996 to 2005, the zoo built an incredible number of projects that elevated the status of the facility.
The zoo opened the brilliant Sea Lion Sound in 2012 and this 2014 map shows yet another expansion of River's Edge, which would result in African Wild Dogs, Sun Bears and Andean Bears all added to that area of the zoo.
All of which brings us to 2023 and the zoo has continued to thrive. Polar Bear Point (2015) and Grizzly Ridge (2017) saw the zoo modernize its old bear grottoes, while Primate Canopy Trails (2021) saw outdoor exhibits added to the Primate House for the first time ever. The zoo has very little else that needs updating, and at the present time I would personally rank it behind only San Diego and Omaha in the USA.
Future plans include a 2.8-acre 'Destination Discovery' Children's Zoo that will cost $40 million and is set to tentatively open in 2026. Here is a rendering:
The most exciting news is the plan for a brand-new, separate safari park-type zoo, set to open in 2027. It's got an odd name (WildCare Park) but with 425 acres/172 hectares of space, and around $230 million in funding, anticipation is high.
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