page_title: Philadelphia Zoo
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Philadelphia Zoo / History
caption_attribution_description: Cougar / Puma / Mountain Lion / Panther (Puma concolor) closeup. Philadelphia Zoo
context_page_description: The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first true zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874. The zoo opened with 1,000 animals and an admission price of 25 cents. For a brief time, the zoo also housed animals brought over from safari on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, which had not yet built the National Zoo.
  The Philadelphia Zoo is one of the premier zoos in the world for breeding animals that are difficult to breed in captivity. The zoo is consistently ranked as one of the top zoological destinations in the United States, alongside the San Diego Zoo and ZooTampa at Lowry Park. The zoo also works with many groups around the world to protect the natural habitats of the animals in their care.
  The zoo is 42 acres and the home of nearly 1,300 animals, many of which are rare and endangered. Special features include a children's petting zoo, a paddleboat lake, a rainforest themed carousel, a ropes course, and many interactive and educational exhibits.
context_section_description: When the Philadelphia Zoological Garden first opened its Victorian gates on July 1, 1874 to over 3,000 visitors, it was the only institution of its kind in the New World. The zoo began with varied exhibits containing 200 mammals including buffalo, deer, wolves, foxes, bears, and monkeys, as well as 67 bird species, and 15 reptiles.  Reptiles and small mammals were housed in The Solitude, a mansion built by John Penn in 1785. A carriage house was located at the entrance for horses that had transported visitors to the zoo. The landscaping and architecture mimicked a Victorian garden atmosphere that is still represented in the present zoo grounds.
  The 1876 Centennial Exposition was held in Fairmount Park, a few blocks from the 33-acre (13 ha) zoo. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant had officiated at the Exposition and visited the zoo on April 23. Zoo attendance increased to nearly 680,000 visitors in 1876, a 36 percent increase over the preceding year, and set a record that would remain unmatched until nearly 858,000 visited in 1951.
  The Penrose Research Laboratory was established in 1901. The first of its kind in any zoo, the Penrose Research Lab contributed to a reduced rate of disease, increased vigor, and longevity among zoo animals. In 1901, the lab began performing necropsies on every zoo animal that became ill and died. The lab's history of preventive medicine reflected the foresight of Dr. Charles B. Penrose and Dr. Cortland Y. White, professors at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania.
  The zoo received railroad visitors at the Zoological Garden station on 34th Street and Girard Avenue from its opening in 1874 until the station was closed in 1902. Since 2013, zoo officials have been working to get the station restored and reopened, to potentially increase attendance and alleviate parking issues on their busiest days.
  Philadelphia Zoo has developed a distinguished breeding program over the years and is credited with many "firsts" including: the first successful birth of an orangutan and a chimpanzee in a U.S. zoo in 1928, the first cheetahs born in a zoo in 1956, the first successful birth of an echidna in North America in 1983, and the first successful birth of a giant river otter in North America in 2004. The first recorded parent-reared Guam kingfisher was bred at the zoo in 1985.
  Philadelphia Zoo also pioneered the first captive management of flamingos under the direction of curator emeritus John A. Griswold. Through innovative feeding techniques, the zoo was the first to gain the pink and red pigmentation of these birds. The zoo was the first to successfully breed Chilean and greater flamingos in captivity.
  The brown tree snake was introduced to the island of Guam in the 1940s, and as a result, bird species endemic to the island were driven to extinction in the wild by the invasive serpent. In 1983, the Guam Bird Rescue Project was spearheaded by the Philadelphia Zoo in an attempt to save the Guam kingfisher and the Guam rail, two native species still present in large enough numbers to benefit from intervention. The rescue plan called for the capture of all kingfishers and rails on Guam, along with the development of a captive management program. The captive breeding was carried out in U.S. zoos in an effort to save the two species from extinction until reintroduction became feasible.
  In the early morning of December 24, 1995, a fire in the World of Primates building killed 23 animals, including a family group of six western lowland gorillas, a family group of three orangutans, four white-handed gibbons, and 10 lemurs (two ruffed lemurs, six ring-tailed lemurs, and two mongoose lemurs). All were members of endangered species. The animals died in their sleep from smoke inhalation (carbon monoxide poisoning); none were burned. 10 primates housed in an adjoining building, the Discovery House, survived.  At the time of the fire, detection equipment existed in only 20 percent of the zoo buildings; the primates building, which had been constructed in 1985, was not one of them. In the 10 months following th
caption: A cougar's face, 2007
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