Bear at the Highland Park Zoo

1948/1955

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Bear at the Highland Park Zoo
  • Title
  • Bear at the Highland Park Zoo
  • Identifier
  • MSP285.B018.F23.I03
  • Source Identifier
  • MSP285.B018.F23.I03
  • Description
  • When the Pittsburgh Zoo opened in June 1898 the people of the city were able for the first time, to see many animals and plants they had never seen before. They were able to watch animals through the then-popular Victorian-style iron bars, ivy or concrete barriers. The caged animals may have been close but they could not harm the zoo visitors. Like most zoos of that time, it was more of an animal menagerie. Gradually over the years, the zoo has been transformed into a collection of more natural animal habitats. The first of these was the construction of the outdoor bear exhibit in 1937. This WPA project was the first “barless” bear den. Now the Zoo has many such areas - the Asian Forest, the African Savanna, and an indoor Tropical Forest where animals are no longer behind bars, but in a setting that replicates their natural home.
  • Genre
  • photographs
  • Subject
  • Highland Park Zoo (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Bears--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Parks--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Zoos--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
  • Source
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, 1892-1981, MSP 285, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
  • Contributor
  • Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
  • Collection
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
  • Rights Information
  • Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/