Aerial view of the Duluth Zoo at Fairmount Park at 71st Avenue West and Grand Avenue dates back to 1923 when West Duluth businessman Bert Onsgard received permission from the City to construct a pen for Billy, his pet deer. The Pittsburgh Steel Company donated a railroad car full of fencing to the project. By 1926 many animals were donated to the zoo by local citizens and businesses. Over the next twenty years, several buildings were constructed and the animal collection grew to include bears, elk, moose, hyenas, leopards and an elephant. During the Depression the WPA built several structures including the bear dens, wolf pens, monkey islands and the elephant house.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
West Duluth; Kingsbury creek; within the city limits of Duluth ten creeks and a river flow into Lake Superior; Kingsbury is west of Keene Creek and east of Stewart Creek; Kingsbury flows toward Lake Superior from Thompson Hill through the Duluth zoo; the zoo is at Seventy-second Avenue west
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
West Duluth; Kingsbury Creek running through the Duluth zoo grounds; zoo under construction; gazebo; stone bridges; power lines; resident houses in background; spring
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
West Duluth; Zoo; Kingsbury creek; stone wall; stone bridge; house; railroad tracks; main zoo building; fence; trees; grounds; swans in pond; Grand Avenue
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections