The ark in the park : the story of Lincoln Park Zoo /

In this well-illustrated book, Rosenthal (curator, Lincoln Park Zoo), Tauber (formerly, Lincoln Park Zoo), and Uhlir (an architect) trace the development of Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo from its beginnings in 1868 on the site of a former city cemetery. In earlier years, both space and funds for operating expenses and the purchase of new animals were limited. "Surplus" animals were often sold to other zoos, circuses, and private individuals, helping to finance diversification of the collections. Through the use of landfill, especially during the Great Depression years, Lincoln Park proper was expanded eastward into Lake Michigan; the original 92-acre park had increased by 1957 to 1,208 acres, part of which was allotted to the zoo. The authors discuss some noteworthy zoo residents, including the gorilla "Bushman." Inevitably, zoo directors, notably Cy DeVry, Alfred Parker, and Marlin Perkins, had fiscal and policy differences over the years with the governing board of Lincoln Park commissioners and Chicago politicians. From its creation in 1959, the Lincoln Park Zoological Society established a highly productive private-public relationship with the Chicago Park District, through which Chicagoans and others can invest in the zoo, helping to preserve its unique free-admission policy, very rare among American and world zoological parks. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All levels. K. B. Sterling formerly, Pace University