Griffith Park Zoo - wikipedia Griffith Park Zoo Griffith Park Zoo Zoo circa 1940 Date opened 1912 Date closed August 1966 Location Los Angeles, California Coordinates 34 ° 08 ′ 01 '' N 118 ° 17 ′ 20 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.1337 ° N 118.2888 ° W ﻿ / 34.1337 ; - 118.2888 Coordinates : 34 ° 08 ′ 01 '' N 118 ° 17 ′ 20 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.1337 ° N 118.2888 ° W ﻿ / 34.1337 ; - 118.2888 Griffith Park Zoo was a city - owned zoo in Los Angeles, California that opened in 1912 and closed in 1966 with the opening of the Los Angeles Zoo. The abandoned site of the Griffith Park Zoo, complete with the ruins of animal enclosures, is now a picnic area and hiking trail in Griffith Park. History The first zoo in Los Angeles was the Eastlake Zoo in East Los Angeles, which opened in 1885. The Griffith Park Zoo opened in 1912 with a grand total of 15 animals. The new zoo was built on the site of Griffith J. Griffith 's defunct ostrich farm. In the mid 1920s, film producer William Nicholas Selig donated many of the animals from his studios, which he had attempted to convert into an animal theme park, to the new zoo. It was expanded in the 1930s by work crews from the Works Progress Administration. Most of the enclosures were built in the caves - with - iron - bars style which was then standard for zoos. As Los Angeles grew, the small Griffith Park Zoo was increasingly criticized as an `` inadequate, ugly, poorly designed and under - financed collection of beat - up cages '', despite drawing more than 2 million visitors a year. In 1958 the city passed a $8 million bond measure to create a brand new zoo. Griffith Park Zoo closed in August 1966 and its animals were transferred to the new Los Angeles Zoo 2 miles away, which opened in November 1966. The animal enclosures, with the bars removed, were left as ruins ; picnic benches or tables were installed in some of them. Due to its proximity to Hollywood and the larger LA film industry, and its unusual appearance, the Zoo has been used as a shooting location for numerous film and television projects. The Zoo has been shown in at least one Episode of Starsky and Hutch, ( the episode `` Pariah '' ), as well as in the CHiPs episode `` Supercyle ''. The area is also shown in the recently made historically - based cop drama Aquarius, set just after the Zoo closed. It was also used in two episodes of The New Adventures of Wonder Woman entitled `` Mind Stealers from Outer Space '' Pts I & II. It was `` Zeb 's hideout '' in Police Academy 2 : Their First Assignment and was used in the Rush Hour television series episode `` Captain Cole 's Playlist ''. It also features in the 2012 independent movie by Sean S. Baker called ' Starlet ' The ruins of unused cages and animal housing remaining in Griffith Park References Jump up ^ `` Old Zoo Picnic Area in Griffith Park ''. Hikespeak. Retrieved 7 December 2012. ^ Jump up to : E. j. Stephens ; Marc Wanamaker ( November 2011 ). Griffith Park. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7385 - 8883 - 4. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Jump up ^ Andrew A. Erish ( 2012 ). Colonel William N. Selig, the Man who Invented Hollywood. University of Texas Press. p. 131. ISBN 978 - 0 - 292 - 74269 - 7. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` The Old Griffith Park Zoo Photo books of the Old Zoo ''. Modern Day Ruins. Retrieved 7 December 2012. Jump up ^ `` Old Griffith Park Zoo is ' Amazing Abandonment ' ''. LA Curbed. December 19, 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2012. Jump up ^ Eberts, Mike ( 1996 ). Griffith Park : A Centennial History. Historical Society of Southern California. p. 303. Jump up ^ `` Zoo history : early years ''. Los Angeles Zoo. Retrieved 7 December 2012. Jump up ^ `` Griffith Park activities ''. Department of Recreation and Parks. City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 7 December 2012. Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089822/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_95 External links Zoo history with photo. Photos of zoo from USC Digital Library Defunct amusement parks in California Amusement parks Chutes Park Corriganville Movie Ranch Frontier Village Idora Park J 's Amusement Park Marshal Scotty 's Playland Park Neverland Ranch Santa 's Village ( Lake Arrowhead / Scotts Valley ) Seaside parks Neptune Beach Pacific Ocean Park Pierpoint Landing The Pike Playland ( San Francisco ) Wonderland Amusement Park ( San Diego ) Water parks Lake Dolores Waterpark Manteca Waterslides Wild Rivers ( Irvine ) Animal parks Busch Gardens ( Pasadena / Van Nuys ) Gay 's Lion Farm Griffith Park Zoo Japanese Village and Deer Park Jungleland USA Lion Country Safari ( Irvine ) Marineland of the Pacific Also see Currently operating amusement parks of California Areas north and west of downtown Los Angeles Districts and neighborhoods Angelino Heights Echo Park Elysian Park Elysian Heights Elysian Valley Franklin Hills Historic Filipinotown Los Feliz Naud Junction Pico - Union Silver Lake Solano Canyon Sunset Junction Westlake Points of interest Dodger Stadium Greek Theatre Griffith Observatory Griffith Park Griffith Park Zoo Los Angeles Zoo MacArthur Park Neighboring cities Glendale LA Regions Crescenta Valley Downtown Eastside Harbor Area Greater Hollywood Northeast LA Northwest LA San Fernando Valley South LA Westside Wilshire Mid-City West Mid-Wilshire Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Griffith_Park_Zoo&oldid=795255294 '' Categories : Former zoos Defunct amusement parks in the United States Defunct amusement parks in California 1912 establishments in California 1966 disestablishments in California History of Los Angeles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 August 2017, at 01 : 27. 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Question: where is the old zoo in griffith park
Answer: picnic area and hiking trail in Griffith Park