page_title: Toledo Zoo
section_title: 1930–1940: The WPA era
hierarchical_section_title: Toledo Zoo / History / 1930–1940: The WPA era
caption_attribution_description: English: The Original part of the Museum of Science
context_page_description: The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio, is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, through the year 2022. The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium houses over 10,000 individual animals that cover 720 different species. With a large focus on conservation efforts, the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium currently participates in over 80 species survival programs.
  The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium has over 57,000 members and hosts over 1 million visitors a year.
context_section_description: During the Great Depression the Toledo Zoo was able to take advantage of government programs to provide labor.  With the remainder of their master plan in need of finishing, Skeldon, Jones, and Colonel John S. Shelter brokered a deal with the federal government to use depression-era relief efforts to create jobs and continue the master plan. In 1934, construction began on the first Works Progress Administration (WPA) building in the zoo, the Reptile House. Federal funding would only cover labor costs, so the Toledo Zoo had to salvage parts from unused structures. Skeldon created multiple agreements which allowed the Toledo Zoo the right to salvage as long as they cleared the land. In the end, the Toledo Zoo was able to salvage all the stonework, lumber, radiators needed to begin construction of the Reptilia (Reptile House). The Reptile House was officially opened in September 1934, to house over 485 reptiles and amphibians. The same day, groundbreaking took place for the next two relief effort buildings, the Museum of Science and the attached Amphitheater. In July 1936, the outdoor Amphitheater was completed, followed closely behind by the indoor theater in October 1936, and the Museum of Science in May 1938.  As the depression continued, more buildings were added to the zoo. The Aves (Aviary) started construction in 1935, and was officially opened to the public in May 1937. Like other WPA buildings, it was also built from salvaged material, but was the first building in the nation to use glass block for walls.  The final WPA project to open was the Aquarium. An example of creative architecture, the aquarium was built in a curved manner to be the rear wall of the Amphitheater, increasing acoustic viability.  Started in 1935, the building was not opened for use until June 1939 and upon its opening it held many honors.  It was the first aquarium in the state of Ohio, the largest fresh water aquarium in the world, and the 30,000th completed WPA project in the state.  All of these structures remain in use at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium today, and it may be the largest collection of these Depression Era relief buildings still in place today.  Additional WPA projects at the zoo included new entrances, the Anthony Wayne Subway, and a wall dividing the Amphitheater from the zoo.
caption: The original Museum of Science prior to renovations
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