Image
San Francisco Zoo San Francisco, California
The San Francisco Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance, once located on the north side across Sloat Boulevard and one block south of the Muni Metro L Taraval line, is now to the west on the ocean side of the zoo off of the Great Highway. [from wikipedia]
Fleishhacker Pool 1954 San Francisco Zoo In 2006 San Francisco Zoo In 2008
Image
Fleishhacker Pool 1954, San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, California

Fleishhacker Pool or Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building was a public saltwater swimming pool located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California, United States, next to the San Francisco Zoo at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. Upon its completion in 1925, it was one of the largest heated outdoor swimming pools in the world and remained open for more than four decades until its closure in 1971. It was eventually demolished in 2000.[from wikipedia]

Image
San Francisco Zoo In 2006, San Francisco, California

Originally named the Fleishhacker Zoo after its founder, banker and San Francisco Parks Commission president Herbert Fleishhacker, planning for construction began in 1929 on the site adjacent to what was once the largest swimming pool in the United States, the Fleishhacker Pool. The area was also already home to a children's playground, an original (circa 1921) Michael Dentzel/Marcus Illions carousel, and the Mother's Building, a haven for women and their children. Most of the exhibits were populated with animals transferred from Golden Gate Park, including two zebras, a cape buffalo, five rhesus monkeys, two spider monkeys, and three elephants (Virginia, Marjorie, and Babe).[from wikipedia]

Image
San Francisco Zoo In 2008, San Francisco, California

Over the next 40 years, the Zoological Society became a powerful fundraising source for the San Francisco Zoo, just as Fleishhacker had hoped when he envisioned: ". . . a Zoological Society similar to those established in other large cities. The Zoological Society will aid the Parks Commission in the acquisition of rare animals and in the operation of the zoo." True to its charter, the Society immediately exerted its influence on the zoo, obtaining more than 1,300 annual memberships in its first 10 years (nearly 25,000 today). It also funded projects like the renovation of the Children's Zoo in 1964, development of the African Scene in 1967, the purchase of medical equipment for the new zoo Hospital in 1975, and the establishment of the Avian Conservation Center in 1978.[from wikipedia]


Subscribe to our mailing list for a Sunday summary of the week's stories.
* indicates required
Email Format
home contact topic guide top 25 photos video writing blogs upload terms privacy