Category: Botanical Gardens and Parks

Barnegat Light Museum/The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens 501 Central Avenue Barnegat Light, NJ 08006

Barnegat Light Museum/The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens

501 Central Avenue

Barnegat Light, NJ 08006

(609) 494-8578

Open: July and August Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm/June-October 10:00am-4:00pm/Seasonal

Fee: Donation to the museum

https://barnegatlightmuseum.org

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46285-d8548161-Reviews-Barnegat_Light_Museum-Barnegat_Light_Long_Beach_Island_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Barnegat Light Museum at 501 Central Avenue

I was on Long Beach Island for the afternoon and had wanted to visit the Barnegat Light Museum on my last trip to the island but it was closed for the afternoon. When I checked the site to see if it was open this weekend, I found that it was and since I had to be in Beach Haven that afternoon I made it my first trip.

The Barnegat Light Museum sign in the off season.

The museum is now open ‘by appointment only’ in the off season, so I called the number provided and the President of the Museum Board opened the museum up for me and gave me a personal tour. What an interesting little museum packed with information and artifacts.

The Barnegat Light Museum main gallery

The museum is a former one room school house that was built in 1903 and used by island school children until 1954. The building still houses the original heating unit, a coal burning furnace and books of the children’s notes from school that had been handwritten (now typed) of current events and school notes.

The main gallery of the Barnegat Light Museum

The main gallery of the museum

The main attraction is the original light, a 1052 prism lens, for the Barnegat Lighthouse on display since 1927. The glass panels and sheer size and beauty of light shows how it was once the beacon for ships along the New Jersey coast. It had been brought to museum after moving around to various places over the years.

The original Barnegat Light for the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse and light display in the museum

Along the walls are all sorts of local artifacts such as dinosaur bones that had been found in the bay and donated to the museum (the president of the museum said today there are certain laws on this), local housewares from families that lived on the island and various types of fishing equipment.

Display cases filled with local fishing artifacts and net configuration for ‘Pound Fishing’

Shark Teeth, Native American Artifacts and prehistoric fossils

There is even a mini display of ‘Pound Fishing”, which is a series of poles and nets are used to catch the fisherman’s prey. This small display shows how it is constructed and used to catch the fish. There is an extensive display of Duck decoys, showing the island’s past and present as a hunting ground for water fowl. The displays come in all colors and types of ducks. There is also an interesting display of whale vertebrae and other fishing displays.

The Whale Vertebrae exhibit

There is an extensive history of the resort hotels that used to be on this part of the island that had been effected by the changing tides of the island. Like the old lighthouse and lighthouse keepers home, one of the hotels just gave way to erosion. This part of the island just keeps shifting.

The Resort and Hotels display of menus

The Resort and Hotels display-The former hotels

The Resort and Hotels display-Dishware and resort artifacts

Hotels disappeared because of shifting tides

Water sports and fishing displays

Since the building was once home to Barnegat Light’s School house, the original furnace is still in the building along with a display of items from old schools in the area.

The School gallery

The Schoolhouse Gallery

The schoolhouse furnace

The retail trade in the early part of the century leading from the old railroad track to the island was the local General Store. The railroads were a big part of the growth of this area until automobiles to the shore became the preferred mode of transportation.

The railroad display

The General Store exhibit

The General Store exhibit

The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens behind the museum in all seasons:

One beautiful benefit of the museum is the beautiful gardens that surround the museum, The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens. The pathways are maintained by the Long Beach Island Garden Club. These wondering paths surround the property and especially elegant looking in the back of the building.

The Gardens from the back of the museum

The Garden plaque to Edith Duff Gwinn

The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens are on the side and behind the museum

The Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens that surround the museum are maintained by the Long Beach Island Garden Club. The gardens are at their peak in the late Spring and early Summer months. The paths are filled with seasonal flowers and shrubs.

In the off season, you can visit the museum by calling ahead and you can schedule an appointment with the staff of volunteers that work at the museum.

The Gardens in the late Summer of 2024

The Beehive

The Gardens in the late Summer of 2024

The Gardens in the late Summer

The Gardens in the late summer

The Garden paths are filled with colorful flowers and plants

The back of the Gardens and the seating area

The back of the Gardens

The Gardens also looked beautiful in the late fall when I arrived for the early holiday activities in Viking Village. I was able to walk around when the museum was closed for the season.

The Gardens during the late fall:

The Gardens during the late fall:

The Gardens during the late fall:

The Gardens during the late fall:

The gardens around Halloween time

The gardens in the Spring and Summer are quite spectacular and the volunteers do a nice job with the landscaping around the museum.

The gardens in the early Summer of 2024

The Gardens in the Summer of 2024

The Gardens in the Summer of 2024

The Gardens in the Summer of 2024

The gardens are really nice in the summer months

Both on the personal tour and when the museum is open during the summer months, the museum is a real treat both inside and out. This small museum is chock full of information not just on Barnegat Light but on the areas development for tourism and business.

It is such an interesting piece of Jersey Shore history.

Prospect Park Zoo 450 Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225

The Prospect Park Zoo

450 Flatbush Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11225

(718) 220-5100

https://prospectparkzoo.com/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:30pm/Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-5:30pm

Admission: Adults $9.95/Seniors $7.95/Children from 3-12 $6.95/Children under 3 are Free/Members Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d283820-Reviews-Prospect_Park_Zoo-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

The entrance to the Prospect Park Zoo

The Prospect Park Zoo is one of my ‘go to’ places along with the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden when visiting Brooklyn. The three popular destinations are all in the same neighborhood and if you have a full day is worth the subway ride from Manhattan to visit.

On a nice day, the best place to start is the Brooklyn Botanical Garden at opening, then head over through the back part of the garden to Prospect Park and walk to the entrance near Flatbush Avenue and go past the carousel and enter the Zoo past the old Leffert’s Homestead. The Zoo is just past that.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d103505-Reviews-Lefferts_Homestead-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review of the Leffert’s Homestead on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/visitingamuseum.com/2864

The grounds of the Lefferts Homestead grounds

The old cart outside of the Lefferts House

The best part of the Prospect Park Zoo is that like the Central Park Zoo it is small enough to see in one day and be able to enjoy the exhibitions in one afternoon and still have time for lunch.

The Zoo has gone through a lot of improvements since COVID and reopened. There is a unique sculpture garden when you walk inside.

The Prospect Park Zoo Sculpture Garden at the entrance

Fish Sculptures at the entrance

The sculptures at the entrance of the zoo by artist Mags Harries

Artist Mags Harries

https://www.magsharries.com/maybe-home

https://smfa.tufts.edu/directory/mags-harries

Artist Mags Harries is an Wales born artist who graduated the Leicester College of Art with a Diploma in Art and Design and Illinois University, Carbondale with a Master of Fine Arts. She is known for her creative sculptures and their use in enhancing public spaces (Artist bio/Tufts.edu).

The main focus of the zoo when you walk through the gates is the seal tanks. These playful animals spend most of their time swimming around or sunning themselves on a warm day. During the feeding schedule, it is interesting to see how they interact with the trainers.

The Seal Tanks at the entrance of the Zoo

The Seal tanks when you walk in are very active

Walking further into the zoo you will walk past the Hall of Animals, where all the smaller animals and amphibians like frogs, snakes and turtles are located. These are a lot of fun for the smaller children who may not see these things in their backyards or even in the parks anymore.

The rare Longnecked Turtle in the Small Animals exhibition

The Fish tank at the Small Animals exhibition

The catfish in the Fish Tank at the Small Animals exhibition

I went to the Bird Cages and saw a Kookaburra bird from Australia. He looked at me like I looked at him. He had the most inquisitive look on his face.

The Kookaburra looking at me

The Kookaburra looking around the cage

The Victorian Pigeons with their beautiful colors and feathers

The tropical hornbill birds

As I sat down to rest after visiting both the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a peacock walked past me looking for food. It must be very used to humans because he just ignored me and kept on walking.

The peacock at the zoo just does his own thing

Beyond that is the Barn, where your horses and cows are located and they even have a pair of turkeys, which makes for interesting conversation for children who wonder where they come from at Thanksgiving. The turkeys here are more bred than the wild ones you will see in the woods. They also have sheep, pigs and lambs that you can feed.

The gardens leading to the Barn area

The gardens leading to the Barn area

The different barnyard animals were in the process of being feed and taken care of by their trainers. If you put food in front of them though, they cam running. The kids were having a ball feeding them snacks.

The Barn pens at the zoo

Lambs and calf’s in the Barnyard at the zoo

The lambs hoping they would be fed by the visitors

The friendly lamb in the pens

The sheep at the barnyard

The animal sculptures just outside the Barnyard display

Next to the Hall of Animals is the Animal Lifestyle exhibition where a lot of the gorillas and monkeys are located. It is funny to watch their mannerisms and see ourselves and out behaviors in them. I guess a couple of thousand years never really separated us that much and we still are a lot alike.

The Baboons at the Hall of Animals

From there you will take the Discovery Trail to see more familiar animals that you might see in every day nature such as deer, foxes, porcupines, ducks and geese in a more natural habitat where they can roam free. The space is limited but they look a lot happy to move around than some of the other animals.

The swans on the Discovery Trail

The swans on the trail

All trails lead back to the Seal Tanks where the popular feeding time gathers a crowd and you will see the care that many of the trainers and zoo keepers give to their residents. There is a lot of love for these animals that is given and I can see a lot of respect.

Relaxing by the Seal Tanks

I got to sit and relax by the Seal Tanks and just enjoy the afternoon. The landscaping around the main Seal Tanks were in full bloom. I also never noticed the statuary around the pool.

The landscaped stairs leading to the zoo from the main road

‘Lioness and Cubs’ by French sculptor Victor Peter

https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/zoos/prospect-park

Artist Victor Peter

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208856

Artist Victor Peter is a French born artist known for his realistic sculptures.

A trip to the snack shop and gift shops at the zoo are expensive and cater to the tourists. They are not as nicely merchandised as the Bronx Zoo or the Central Park Zoo. Still they are fun to visit once or twice.

The Prospect Park Zoo is still a nice afternoon out for families and a nice way to communicate with nature.

The History of the Prospect Park Zoo:

The Prospect Park Zoo is a 12 acre zoo located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn and as of 2016 houses 864 animals. The zoo was originally part of the plan of Prospect Park as a “Zoological Garden” in the western part of the park. The zoo was not part of the finished plan in the park in 1874 by designers Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

The park design included a Wild Fowl Pond in the northern part of the park that was stop off for water birds and a Deer Paddock in the southern part of the zoo where deer lived in a penned area.

In the 1890’s, gardens were created for park enjoyment and a informal Menagerie was created by the Brooklyn Parks Commission, George V. Brower, when the donation of small bear, white deer, seven seals, a cow and twelve peacocks came into the possession of the park.

In 1934, Parks Department head Robert Moses set a plan to reconstruct the City’s Parks and under the Works Progress Administration started to revamp the park system. In March of that year architect Aymar Embury II set to design the new zoo with six new buildings and centered by a Seal Pool.

By the 1970’s, the zoo faced disrepair and was neglect for the animals. It was considered one of the worst zoo’s in the country according to the press and finally in 1980, the Koch Administration signed a 50 year agreement with the NY Zoological Society, now called the Wildlife Conservation Society, which was also administrating the Central Park and Queens Zoo.

The park closed in 1988 for a five year, 37 million dollar renovation that gutted all the pits and cages but saved the historic buildings and statuary. The new zoo opened in 1993 with a new name, “The Prospect Park Wildlife Conservation Center” and a philosophy of educating children. The zoo along with the Queens Zoo have had some shortfalls in the past but have the full support of the Society and the public since the early 2000’s. Still the zoo remains popular with families from all over Brooklyn and the world.

The main view of the zoo

(This information is provided by Wiki and the Wildlife Conservatory website and I give them both full credit for the information)

Central Park Zoo Fifth Avenue and East 64th Street New York, NY 10021

Central Park Zoo

Fifth Avenue and East 64th Street

New York, NY 10021

(212) 439-6500

https://centralparkzoo.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-4:30pm

Fee: Adults $12.00/Seniors (65+) $10.00/Children (3-12)$8.00/Total Experience Adults $16.00/Seniors (65+) $15.00/Children (3-12) $12.00

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d267703-Reviews-Central_Park_Zoo-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The entrance of the zoo in Central Park

I love coming to the Central Park Zoo when I am visiting the Upper East Side. The zoo is a nice to just relax and reflect from the hustle and bustle of the City. On a quiet midweek day, there is nothing like going to the 2:00pm seal feeding at all times of the year. The seals get so excited and the humans like seeing the seals in their playful mood.

The seals can be very friendly and don’t mind humans around.

The seals like to reach out for attention.

The zoo is small so touring it will only take about an hour or so to see all the exhibitions. You have a choice of seeing the monkeys, the birds, the seals and the penguins. They finally moved the polar bear out of the zoo a few years ago and he always looked so bored with his life. He would give you a look like ‘get me out of here’.

The Central Park Zoo is set up with different exhibitions.

The smaller animals like the monkeys and the penguins look like they are having more fun in their enclosed homes with more room to move around. They always look at us as visitors in an amusing way like why are we so interested in them. It is an interesting interaction with the animals there to see their reaction to us.

The Monkey Island

The Monkey Island with the monkeys hiding that afternoon.

There is also more birds, amphibians and bats to see in other exhibitions around the zoo and smaller outside areas to view the smaller animals such as pandas and leopards that have finally been given space to roam around.

The Penguins are very playful all day long.

The Bird Sanctuary is another popular section of the zoo. There are all sorts of rare and exotic birds to see and watch in a copy of their native habitat. I thought they looked a little bored seeing the same birds day after day.

The birds have a lot of space to fly around but seemed a bit bored.

The pink Heron

The Bird Sanctuary

The parrot seemed a little bored.

The Birds feeding themselves.

In the small animal exhibition, the mongooses were putting on quite a show for all of us. It looked liked they were mating in front of the crowd.

The mongooses running around.

These two looked like they were mating.

It is a nice walk around the zoo and the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon.

There is also a nice gift shop just outside the zoo and the Dancing Crane Cafe is the zoo restaurant which is over-priced and the food the few times I have tried it was mediocre. It is not like the cafe up at the Bronx Zoo that was pretty decent.

The Dancing Crane Restaurant

https://centralparkzoo.com/plan-your-visit/dining

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5585261-Reviews-Dancing_Crane_Cafe-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Don’t miss the hourly concert at Delacorte Clock when the animal sculptures dance to the music played. It is such an enjoyable experience.

History of the Zoo:

The Zoo was not originally part of the layout for Central Park when designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. A small menagerie developed on the edge of the park with exotic animals that had been donated to the park starting with a bear cub tied to a tree in 1859 and a monkey in 1860. Other animals came later including cranes, a peacock and a goldfish.

In 1860, the American Zoological and Botanical Society wanted to create a zoo somewhere in New York City. In 1864, the zoo received a formal charter, making it the second publicly owned zoo behind the Philadelphia Zoo. Though a formal zoo had not yet been created, the menagerie, with its free admission and good location made it the most popular attraction in Central Park.

By the 1930’s, the menagerie had become run down and was not sufficient to hold the animals. In 1834, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia hired Robert Moses to head the unified Parks Department and a new more formal zoo was created. The new zoo was opened on December 2nd, 1934 and by 1936 over six million people had visited the zoo.

The eagle statues dotted the zoo.

By 1967, the zoo was again falling apart due to years of negligence and budget cuts. New York City’s fiscal crisis had affected the Parks System and conditions had gone downhill. In 1980, The Wildlife Conservatory (the former NY Zoological Society) signed a fifty year agreement in April of that year and started a renovation of the zoo from 1982 to its opening in 1988.

When the Zoo opened in August of 1988, the concept of the zoo had changed. The Wildlife Conservation Society had taken over the Queens Zoo, the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn and already had possession of the Bronx Zoo and the direction of the society was toward conservation and care of animals while the Prospect Zoo was to be used as a Children’s Zoo and the Queens Zoo would concentrate on North American animals. The Children’s Zoo next to the Central Park Zoo went through its own renovation in the late 1990’s and is now called the Tisch Children’s Zoo after businessman, Laurence Tisch who had donated most of the money for the renovation.

The gardens make a big impact around all the exhibitions.

(This information was taken from both Wiki and the Central Park Zoo History)

The zoo has the most amazing view of Central Park South. This neighborhood lines the southern part of the park.

Bronx Zoo 2300 Southern Boulevard Bronx, NY 10460

The Bronx Zoo

2300 Southern Boulevard

The Bronx, NY 10460

(718) 367-1010

https://bronxzoo.com/

Open: Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm/Saturday & Sunday 10:00am-5:30pm

Fee: Members Free/Adults-Full Experience $39.95/Senior Full Experience $34.99/Child (3-12) $29.99/Child (under 3) Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47369-d136079-Reviews-Bronx_Zoo-Bronx_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on TripAdvisor for the “Holiday Lights Festival”:

https://static.tacdn.com/AttractionProductReview-g47369-d19708232-Bronx_Zoo_Holiday_Lights-Bronx_New_York.html?m=19905

The entrance of the Bronx Zoo from the original entrance by Astor Court

The 125th Sign by the “Holiday Lights” event that evening

I have been coming to the Bronx Zoo since I was five years old, and I never really thought it changed that much over the years. I recently went to a Private Members Night last Fall (See Day One Hundred and in MywalkinManhattan.com) and realized that I had not been there since they opened the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibition and that was in the late 90’s. I had not been in the zoo for over twenty years. A lot has changed since I visited back in 1997. A lot of new exhibitions have opened and renovations made.

My blog on the Private Members Night at the Bronx Zoo on MywalkinManhattan.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/9545

The Zoo covers about 265 acres of the park in the middle of The Bronx. I took the time to walk all through the park and visiting all the exhibitions, riding on the train and on the monorail system looking over all the animals in their natural habitats set up by the zoo.

I revisited the Congo Gorilla Forest, the Worlds of Birds and Reptiles, exploring the African Plains that I rode past on the monorail system and walked through Jungle World. I really got to visit the park in more detail than I ever had before.

The one thing I really liked about the Zoo was I had never noticed the architecture of the buildings and fountains that I had passed when I was younger and had a real appreciation for them. Most had been around the turn of the last century when the philosophy of looking at animals was different. The graceful stone buildings have beautiful animal carvings all over them.

The Monkey House Building in the old section of the zoo

The best part was since it was a rather gloomy night out there were not that many members in the zoo so I got to ride the rides and walk through the Tree Top Maze with crowds behind me rushing the experience.

I finished the evening visiting the new Dinosaur exhibition and that was creepy. There were dinosaur replications hiding in the woods making sounds and looking at you as you passed. It had been a very popular exhibition that summer.

The Dinosaur display

For dinner that evening, I enjoyed the Dancing Crane Cafe, the main restaurant in the zoo. I was impressed that the food was really good. It was mostly kid staples like pizza and chicken fingers but everything was really fresh, and everything was cooked for us. I returned again for the “Holiday Lights” event in 2024, and the food was just as good as the first time (so many patrons online complain about this restaurant, and I think it very good for what it is).

The outside of the Dancing Crane Cafe during the holiday season at the Bronx Zoo

https://bronxzoo.com/plan-your-visit/dining/dancing-crane

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5585261-Reviews-or25-Dancing_Crane_Cafe-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The beautiful Green Tree outside the restaurant

The inside of the Dancing Crane Cafe at holiday time

The Christmas tree at the Dancing Crane during the “Holiday Lights” event

I had the Chicken Fingers with French Fries, and it was a nice sized portion. The chicken was a generous portion that was almost a whole breast. The restaurant is pricey but every once in a while, it is a treat. The one thing I have to say about the place is the food is consistent and for a zoo it is pretty good. I thought the quality was excellent.

My Chicken Fingers dinner was really good

The Chicken was so well fried and tasted really good

The Fries were really good as well

I looked over the zoo with a fresh pair of eyes without the throngs of visitors that you normally see there. I enjoyed looking over the animals in a more natural habitat that a lot of zoos don’t offer.

The holiday display at the Bronx Zoo in 2024

The Holiday display in 2024 at the Bronx Zoo

Recently the Zoo has brought back the “Holiday Lights” event for the holidays. I was able to attend the last night of the event on a Sunday night and it was pretty special. In the era of COVID, it really cheered me up. In 2024, I visited the last weekend that the event took place, and it was nice to tour the park after hours and not a lot of people be there. The best time to come to this event is after Christmas. I came the last weekend it was open, and it was the best time to come with no crowds and plenty of time to walk around the park in the dark to enjoy the displays.

Almost all of the Zoo was decorated with lights and there was Christmas music playing the whole night. Even though the holidays had passed it still put me back into the mood.

The nautical display at the Bronx Zoo “Holiday Lights”

The Nautical scenes of the display

The “African” exhibit at the “Holiday Lights” event

The giraffes in the “African” event

The Elephants in the “African” section

The colorful frog in the “Magical Forest”

The colorful flowers in the “Magical Forest” at “Holiday Lights”

The forest of flowers

More Flowers

The tribe of Moose at the “Holiday Lights” event

Flock of Parrots in the woods

Path of Rhinos on display

Mother and baby frogs

The Frog family on display

Each of the trails had lighted tunnels that were a sensory excitement to walk through especially as it got darker.

The Circular tunnel

The other lighted tunnel offered a wonder in lights to walk through

All the trees were adorned with white lights and each of the sections of the park were decorated with a theme.

The Snowflake display in the park

There were elephants wondering through the paths, seals and penguins swimming through their displays and all sorts of tinkling snowmen and animals like bears, lions, tigers and giraffes lining the paths.

Various animals in white lights

The lightshow paths were lined with all sorts of light

The “Magical Musical Christmas Tree” and show at the “Holidays Lights” event

The musical show that takes place on a continuous basis. You have to see this show once. It is amazing show!

The Video on the show:

IMG_4663 Download

The Video on the show:

IMG_4665 Download

The Video on the show:

IMG_4666 (3)Download

The nicest section that I almost missed was the musical Christmas tree in the old section of the park and the zebras on stilts.

The Illuminated puppets at the zoo during the “Holidays Lights” event

The original section of the park was decorated with multiple lights with contemporary Christmas music playing in the background. There were birds flying, reindeer being chased and seals leading the way for other animals.

The entrance of the zoo that evening

I was finally able to ride the Bug Carousel which was a little hokey but a lot of fun. I could see why the kids like it so much. There were plenty of adults who were also enjoying the complimentary ride. There was ice sculpture demonstrations, comics performing and all of the food outlets and gift shops were open to a somewhat limited crowd. We had timed tickets, so the crowd was rather small for such a big event.

The Rockefeller Fountain and Astor Court decorated for the holidays

The Totem Pole lit up and decorated for the holidays

I got there by 6:15pm and the park display was open until 9:30pm. By the time I left for the evening at 9:00pm, the park crowd had really thinned out and there were very few people walking around. Still it was nice to walk around and feel I had the whole park to myself. It was getting cool that evening but still a nice night to walk around. I will have to remember this for next year.

Leaving for the evening of the Lightshow at the Bronx Zoo for “Holiday Lights”

The History of The Bronx Zoo:

In 1895, a group made up of members of the Boone and Crockett Club founded the New York Zoological Society with the purpose of founding the zoo. The architectural team of Heins & LaFarge designed the original permanent buildings as a series of Beaux-Arts pavilions grouped around the sea lion pool.

The Astor Court Fountain during the “Holiday Lights” event

The Fountain at night

Jellyfish display by Astor Court

The Jellyfish lightshow inside one of the buildings

The Rockefeller Fountain was bought to the park in 1902 from another part of the park. It had been built in 1872 and was moved to the front of the zoo by the Rockefeller family and is now surrounded by a series of gardens as you enter the park from the parking lot.

The Rockefeller Fountain in Astor Court the night of “Holiday Lights”

When the zoo opened, it featured 843 animals in twenty-two exhibitions around the park. The zoo has been home to many exotic animals many being the first of their kind in a zoo. At various times in its history, the park has featured Komodo Dragons, Andean flamingos and a Sumatran rhinoceros.

Today the park is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The main exhibitions are the Congo Gorilla Forest, Jungle World, the Wild Asia Monorail, Madagascar!, Tiger Mountain, the African Plains, the World of Birds, the World of Reptiles and the Zoo Center. There are also various restaurants and snack shops throughout the park (that were closed the evening I went there), a carousel and a playground.

The Bronx Zoo Gift Shop the night of “Holidays Lights”

(This information on the park comes from Zoo history and Wiki)

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