Skip to main content

8600-00. Woodland Park Zoo

 Record Group
Identifier: 8600-00
The Woodland Park Zoo began its existence as a small private animal collection established by Seattle developer Guy C. Phinney (1852-1893) on the northwest corner of his 179-acre Woodland Park Estate. This menagerie included North American animals like deer and black bear, as well as more exotic specimens like African ostriches. After Phinney’s death in 1893, the property remained in limbo until the City purchased it from Phinney’s widow in 1899 for $100,000, despite a veto by Mayor Thomas D. Humes. It became a part of the municipal parks system and was overseen by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The menagerie grew in 1903, when the animals from a private zoo in Leschi Park were absorbed, providing the foundation from which Woodland Park Zoo would grow. The zoo developed gradually during its first half-century. New facilities like the Lion House (completed 1919) and the Beaver Pool (completed 1936) were periodically opened and populated with new specimens brought in from around the world. Controversy arose in 1932 when, against fierce public opposition, the city went forward with plans to construct a six-lane highway (now Aurora Avenue) directly through Woodland Park, separating the zoo from the larger lower park area to the east. Historical events affected the zoo’s operation, as with slashed budgets and near closure during the Great Depression, and an anti-aircraft gun emplacement in the North Meadow during World War II. The postwar period featured more rapid expansion as well as a growing incorporation into municipal society. Buoyed by municipal bond issues in 1948 ($800,000) and 1960 ($150,000), the zoo completed a diverse set of new facilities, including an Animal Health Department (completed 1953) and the Great Ape House (completed 1957). A longtime inhabitant of the latter building was a male lowland gorilla named Bobo, who was the zoo’s most famous resident from 1953 until his death in 1968. The zoo’s profile was raised further in 1954 by the new KCTS children’s program "Buttons and his Buddies," which followed zoo animals and staff during its 17-year run on the air. The most consequential development of this time, ultimately, may have been the 1965 founding of the Seattle Zoological Society (later Woodland Park Zoological Society) as a promotional and fund-raising organization auxiliary to the Parks Department. The zoo received a significant financial boost in 1968, when the Forward Thrust program earmarked $4 million for a program of facility building and improvement at Woodland Park. The City enlisted a team led by architect George Bartholick to construct a long-range design plan. The Bartholick Plan, as it was known, envisioned a zoo of larger and more naturalistic exhibit spaces, but also - and more controversially - a connection to the lower park via a lid over Aurora Avenue. Concerned over the potential effect on existing park space, a citizen coalition called Save Woodland Park led a movement in opposition that resulted in the plan’s 1974 defeat by public vote. Mayor Wes Uhlman then empanelled a task force of citizens and experts to formulate a new strategy, which eventually resulted in the Hancocks/Jones & Jones Plan, approved in 1976. Though less ambitious than the Bartholick Plan, the Long-Range Plan still incorporated naturalistic elements in the form of ecology-based "bioclimatic zones" into the design, setting a conceptual benchmark for future development. Guided by the Long-Range Plan as well as growing public interest in issues of zoological conservation, Woodland Park Zoo subsequently committed to creating facilities that closely resembled the natural habitats of their animals. For example, 1979 saw the opening of the Lowland Gorilla exhibit, one of the first in the world to exchange generic cage space for native flora and landscaping for large primates. Following the exhaustion of Forward Thrust funds in the early 1980s, the zoo entered a period of financial stagnation, partially alleviated by donations and admission fees (first charged in 1977). Public concern in 1984 prompted Mayor Charles Royer to empanel a Zoo Commission of citizens, staff, labor representatives and civic leaders to consider the problem. The report published the following year recommended a new round of county bond issues for needed capital improvements. Passed by voters that November, the bonds generated $31.5 million, along with $10 million in private matching donations, and resulted in facilities like the Asian Elephant Forest exhibit (completed 1989). New funding concerns prompted the creation of the Zoo Commission II in 1995 to formulate a fresh round of recommendations. In its report, the commission criticized the zoo’s managerial organization, which split tasks between the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the private Woodland Park Zoological Society, as cumbersome and wasteful of money and effort. In response, the City Council voted in 2001 to consolidate zoo administration under the Society. Under the terms of the 20-year contract signed in 2002, the Society was designated to take over full management of the zoo. The City oversees the contract and provides annual public funding. Today the zoo maintains a reputation for excellence among U.S. zoos for exhibits and education programs, and its 1,100 animal specimens attract over a million visitors per year.

Found in 33 Collections and/or Records:

Woodland Park Zoo Photograph Collection

 Series
Identifier: 8640-01
Abstract

Black and white, and color, negatives, prints, and slides relating to the Woodland Park Zoo.

Dates: Majority of material found within 1920-2015

At the Zoo (Newsletter)

 Series
Identifier: 8600-10
Scope and Contents Note

Quarterly external newsletter of the Woodland Park Zoo. The name is shown as "@ the zoo" on the cover.

Dates: 2000

Director's Records

 Series
Identifier: 8602-01
Abstract

Records from the office of the Woodland Park Zoo Director.

Dates: 1967-2004

Woodland Park Zoo Audio Recordings

 Series — Box 11
Identifier: 8601-10
Abstract

Audio interviews conducted with Woodland Park Zoo Employees.

Dates: Majority of material found within 1979-1999

Zoo Press Releases

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 8601-11
Abstract

Press releases about zoo issues and events.

Dates: 1989-2007

Woodland Park Zoological Society Board Minutes

 Series
Identifier: 8604-01
Abstract

Minutes and supplementary materials from meetings of the board of the Woodland Park Zoological Society.

Dates: 1986-2008

Woodland Park Zoological Society Board Subject Files

 Series
Identifier: 8604-02
Abstract

Records, reports, and communications of the board of the Woodland Park Zoological Society and its committees.

Dates: 1984-2008; Majority of material found within 1987-1997

Woodland Park Zoo Staff Information Files

 Series
Identifier: 8601-12
Abstract

Records kept by and about zoo personnel including news articles, photos, academic papers, curriculum vitae, memos, correspondence, and administrative records.

Dates: 1925-1991

Center for Wildlife Conservation Records

 Series
Identifier: 8604-03
Abstract

Documenting the establishment, management, and programs of the Center for Wildlife Conservation, a nonprofit within the Woodland Park Zoological Society.

Dates: 1984-1997

Facility and Exhibit Planning Records

 Series
Identifier: 8630-03
Abstract

Records of the development of and the public's response to the zoo's Long-Range plan as well as the planning and development of exhibits and facilities through four decades.

Dates: 1967-2005

Woodland Park Zoo Miscellaneous Newsletters

 Series
Identifier: 8600-01
Scope and Contents note

Newsletters and other serial publications produced by the zoo. Note that the external newsletter "At The Zoo" is in Series 8600-10.

Dates: 1952-2019

Woodland Park Zoo Brochures and Publications

 Series
Identifier: 8600-02
Scope and Contents note

Brochures, flyers, guides, and event schedules from the zoo. Also includes some zoo postcards, maps, and ephemera.

Dates: 1930-2004

Woodland Park Zoo Employee Newsletters

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 8600-03
Abstract

Internal newsletters for Woodland Park Zoo staff and volunteers.

Dates: 1988-2001

Seattle Zoological Society and Woodland Park Zoological Society Newsletters

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 8600-04
Abstract

Newsletter sent to members of the Woodland Park Zoo.

Dates: 1979-1999

Woodland Park Zoo Volunteer Newsletters

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 8600-05
Abstract

Newsletters for docents and other volunteers at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Dates: 1983-2004

Woodland Park Zoo Status of Animal Collection

 Series
Identifier: 8600-06
Abstract

Yearly inventory of the zoo's animal collection.

Dates: 1931-2008

Woodland Park Zoo Annual Reports

 Series
Identifier: 8600-07
Abstract

Annual reports of the Woodland Park Zoo and the Seattle Zoological Society.

Dates: 1976-2010

Woodland Park Zoo Education Department Publications

 Series
Identifier: 8600-08
Scope and Contents note

Schedules and program information published by the zoo's education staff outlining classes available for children and adults, as well as resources for classroom teachers and school visits.

Dates: 1974-2012

Woodland Park Zoo Docent Manuals

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 8600-09
Abstract

Reference manuals created for the use of zoo docents.

Dates: 1994-1998

Woodland Park Zoo Historical and Administrative Records

 Series
Identifier: 8601-01
Abstract

Historical records collected by zoo staff.

Dates: 1889-2006; 1940-1992

Woodland Park Zoo News Clippings

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 8601-02
Scope and Contents note

News clippings related to zoo events, facilities, animals, and activities. Most are loose clippings, but there are also four scrapbooks. One contains articles primarily from the early 1940s and from the late 1960s. One is of the first Zoo director, Gus Knudson. One contains Seattle Times articles from 1949-1956 written by Byron Fish while he worked for the zoo.

Dates: 1904-2005; 1940-1994

Woodland Park Zoo Accreditation Records

 Series
Identifier: 8601-04
Abstract

Records relating to the zoo's periodic applications for accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Dates: 1974-2003

Woodland Park Zoo Bond Issue Records

 Series
Identifier: 8601-06
Abstract

Records relating to a $31.5 million bond issue for the zoo that was approved by voters in 1985.

Dates: 1984-1998

American Zoo and Aquarium Association Conference Planning Records

 Series
Identifier: 8601-07
Abstract

Records from Woodland Park Zoo staff documenting planning efforts for a national conference.

Dates: 1988-1995

Woodland Park Zoo Moving Images Collection

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 8601-08
Dates: 1960-1985; 1974-1983

Woodland Park Zoo Plans and Drawings

 Series
Identifier: 8601-09
Dates: 1989-1992

Woodland Park Zoo Animal Transaction Records

 Series
Identifier: 8610-01
Abstract

Records documenting changes to Woodland Park Zoo's animal collections.

Dates: 1965-1998

Woodland Park Zoo Animal Management Records

 Series
Identifier: 8610-02
Abstract

Records relating to animal care and exhibit management at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Dates: 1983-2001

Woodland Park Zoo Bird Collection Monthly Reports

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 8611-01
Abstract

Monthly reports on the zoo's bird collection.

Dates: 1979-1983

Woodland Park Zoo Golden Monkey Exhibit Records

 Series
Identifier: 8620-01
Abstract

Records related to a loan from China of two rare golden monkeys.

Dates: 1985-1986

Woodland Park Zoo Special Events Records

 Series
Identifier: 8621-01
Abstract

Records relating to special events and promotions at Woodland Park Zoo.

Dates: 1983-1990

Woodland Park Zoo Master Plan Records

 Series
Identifier: 8630-01
Abstract

Records relating to the zoo's planning and improvement efforts in the early 1970s.

Dates: 1969-1977

Woodland Park Zoo Water Conservation Records

 Series
Identifier: 8630-02
Abstract

Records relating to the zoo's water conservation efforts.

Dates: 1988-1996