Bronx Zoo #1 (From Henry Penndorf)

Bronx Zoo Elephant House.1, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. The Bronx Zoo's Elephant House is a magnificent and imposing structure. It has a beautiful copper dome. Pictures just don't do it justice. They haven't built anything like the Bronx Zoo's Elephant House in a long time. I don't think anyone could afford to. The Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo opened on November 20, 1908. It was designed to hold and exhibit the Bronx Zoo's collection of elephants, rhinos, and hippos. The inspiration for the design of the Bronx Zoo's Elephant House came from the Palais Des Hippopotamus in Antwerp, Belgium. I don't recall the time of the iron fences surrounding the Elephant House as in the picture that you posted. My first recollection of the outside exhibit area for the elephants was a large open area with a concrete pool surrounded by a low stone wall. The entire area was just dirt. The grounds of the yard were sloped downward towards the stone wall creating a dry moat. The elephants wo! uld stand in this "hole" with their heads resting on the wall and their trunks outstretched to collect treats from the visitors. There was a short metal railing that kept the visitors back from the stone wall. On most of our visits to the Bronx Zoo the elephants were outside. I think I was only inside the Elephant House once prior to its renovation, and don't remember a whole lot about it. If someone has some pictures of the inside of the Elephant House before the renovation, and would like to share them, that would be great. Some of Elephant House's most impressive features are the incredible s! culptures that adorn the outside of the building. The sculptures (African Elephants) on the north side of the Elephant House were created by Charles Knight. The sculptures on the South side of the building (Asian Elephants) were sculpted by Alexander Phimister "A. P." Proctor. If you look closely at the pictures of the elephant head sculptures you can see the artists name. Besides elephants, rhinos, and hippos, over the years the venerable Elephant House has been home to tapirs, capybaras, and llama rides. The building is the current home to camels and barbarusa, an Asian pig. In the late seventies, early eighties, the Bronx Zoo offered elephant rides in an area located just prior to the entrance to the Elephant House. For a short time the Zoo even presented an elephant show of sorts. There were no "tricks". The elephants demonstrated behaviors that were based on what they would do in the wilds. T! he trainer/keeper was a former circus performer. The name Joyner (?) seems to be stuck in my memory. In 1989 the Elephant House was restored and renovated. It became the Keith W. Johnson Zoo and Information Center. For a time after its renovation the Center housed two Asian Elephants, a Sumatran Rhino name "Rapunzel", and a tapir. As you leave the Elephant House and head into the Zoo there are two very large bronze castings of Indian Rhinos that line the pathway on either side. The sculptures pay homage to "Bessie" an Indian Rhino that lived at the Bronx Zoo from 1923-1962. The original sculpture of "Bessie" was created by Katherine Lane Weems in 1935. That sculpture resides at Harvard University. Although identical, the Zoo's castings were done by two different foundries. The statues are referred to as "Victoria" and "Bessie"! . "Victoria" is on the left and "Bessie" is on the right.& nbsp; The twin bronze castings were added to the Zoo sometime around 1989. Prior to the installation of the statues of "Victoria" and "Bessie", there were two rhino topiaries along the pathway. Each year at Christmas time the Bronx Zoo has a event called "Holiday Lights". The Elephant House is illuminated with Christmas Lights,and decorated with wreaths. There is a large Christmas Tree in the center of the Elephant House. The two statues of "Victoria" and "Bessie" have large wreaths placed about their necks. I believe the first elephant to be exhibited by the Bronx Zoo was a male Asian Elephant named Gunda. He arrived at the Zoo on July 2, 1904. Gunda was captured wild in the forests of Assam in India. At the time of his arrival at the Bronx Zoo he was estimated to b! e seven years old, stood six feet seven, with sixteen inch tusks and weighed in at 3,740 pounds. The cost of Gunda was $2,340.00. Gunda lived at the Bronx Zoo until June 1916. The Bronx Zoo's current herd of elephants (3 Asian Elephants) are part of the Zoo's Wild Asia exhibit and can only be seen briefly by taking the monorail which winds its way through the Wild Asia exhibit. The Bronx Zoo has exhibited elephants for over 100 years. During that span of time the Bronx Zoo has exhibited a total of twenty-eight elephants. For a listing of elephants that have lived at the Bronx Zoo you can go to this web page...www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=441 Regrettably, the Bronx Zoo has decided to end its long history of exhibiting elephants. ! Unlike other zoos that have reached similar decisions, the Bron x Zoo will not send their elephants to other zoos or sanctuaries. The Bronx Zoo has chosen to "manage to extinction". They will retain their elephants until two of the elephants die and they are left with only one elephant. At that time, they will send the remaining elephant to another zoo that has elephants. I hope that the Bronx Zoo's elephants live on for a long, long time. The Bronx Zoo continues to evolve. The Zoo has begun a new phase. It is renovating the Astor Court , formally Baird Court, area of the Zoo. It has recently completed the renovations to the Sea Lion pool and has now started to renovate and reformat another historic building, the Lion House.! The Lion House had been deemed as not appropriate for the housing of big cats and has been vacant for some time. It will be transformed into an exhibit housing the animals of Madagascar. As I am writing this I had a sobering thought. I have been visiting the Bronx Zoo for fifty plus years. First it was with my Mom, Dad and brother, then with my wife and our two sons. Someday, maybe I will be taking grandchildren to the Bronx Zoo. Stay Well, Henry