Sorry newzooboy, I don't remember taking a camera on the trip.
Zoos which are no longer open
- Thread starter BDub
- Start date
No problem. I saw the remains of the zoo in 2013 (see photos in gallery) and would love to see some pictures of it when it was open. I have found nothing on the internet. Did you obtain a guidebook?
I don't remember there being a guidebook. I don't remember seeing anything interesting at Verona Zoo. I thought the only interesting animal at Milan Zoo was a Cape fox.
Some Brazilian theme parks, as well as their zoos were closed in the 1990's and the 2000's. The two main examples were the Bwana Park (located in the state of Rio de Janeiro) and the Paraíso Perdido Park (located in the state of Ceará). Another would be a hotel located in the state of Santa Catarina, whose zoo closed its doors in the early 2010's. Other closed zoos include the Leme zoo (SP), Zooparque Brasil (RJ), the Niterói zoo (RJ) and the Vila Isabel zoo (RJ).
Last edited:
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago actually had a satellite zoo in Indian Boundary Park, located about 8 miles from the zoo itself. It wasn't much - just a bunch of cages right next to a playground with some animals in them. My mom grew up in the area (and was actually a camp counselor there every summer during her teenage years) and she told me they used to have bears and other larger animals there. By the time I was born it was mostly just deer and swans. The last time I went there, in 2005, only one pen had animals in it, and it was just goats and llamas. The zoo portion closed about 12-13 years ago and it's been converted into a community garden.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Slater Park Zoo in Pawtucket, Rhode Island yet. Very interesting history, including it housing animals from Barnum and Bailey's Circus, to how it was called "one of the worst zoos in the US" by 60 minutes (which I can't seem to find the footage/article) to their famous Asian elephant Fanny to their urban legend that a "white wolf", presumably an arctic wolf, escaped its enclosure and was living in Rhode Island, to as of right now being used as a petting zoo/garden with some of the old zoo buildings still being used for alternative means.
Back in the nineties, before internet and smart phones, I spent an hour or so driving around Spokane trying to find the Walk in the Wild Zoo before I realized I had an old city guidebook and the zoo had closed a few years before.
Glen Park Zoo in San Fransisco from 1897-1901
Here's a good article on its short history.
The forgotten zoo in the middle of San Francisco
Here's a good article on its short history.
The forgotten zoo in the middle of San Francisco
The Clinch Park Zoo in Traverse City, Michigan, was closed a few years ago. It's been decades since I saw it so I can't recall much but it was small, three and a half acres, and at the time of its closing it had only forty animals.
I saw it on a bright, clear late spring day, it was right on the lake, and the sight was beautiful.
There was also a little zoo in the middle of Tel Aviv, a nice green oasis in the middle of the big city. They closed it and moved the animals out to the newer facility outside town.
I saw it on a bright, clear late spring day, it was right on the lake, and the sight was beautiful.
There was also a little zoo in the middle of Tel Aviv, a nice green oasis in the middle of the big city. They closed it and moved the animals out to the newer facility outside town.
devilfish
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I had no idea it closed; I was actually aiming to visit on my 2016 trip as I'd not had the chance back in 2010. Good job I didn't waste a day trying!
