Mark your diaries, folks.
London Zoo 1904
- Thread starter ralphthestick
- Start date
Do you think our computers will be able to handle it without crashing or is it a very piece-heavy zoo?
It is very piece-heavy...
It tends to behave itself once it's loaded, and will load in at quite a low camera position so there isn't too much to render right off the bat, but if that is an issue you struggle with, it might be a bit of a pain. I'll be sending it off to a lot of people to tour though (and I'm planning a tour myself, though no promises on when), so anyone who can't load it will be able to enjoy it vicariously!
Just over a week out from release, let's get the tour of the south garden wrapped up at least.
Carrying on along the edge of Three Island Pond and the Main Lawn, we get to the Diving Birds' House. This was originally the 'Fish House' - the world's first public aquarium, built in 1853 (London Zoo coined the word 'aquarium', being a portmanteau of 'aquatic vivarium'). In 1882, a large tank was added to display diving birds, and the focus seems to have gradually shifted away from the fish and towards the birds. In 1903, the tank was moved to the centre and the building renamed. Small penguins, guillemots, cormorants etc would be fed fish in the diving tank at 12:00 and 5:00pm. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to actually move the penguins to their holding cages, so they're just having a little waddle around the house itself.
Next, we come to the Refreshment Rooms. The main dining room was built in 1868, though additional blocks were added in 1873 and 1878 as separate second-class and fellows dining rooms. After the Regent Building was constructed in 1929, the Refreshment Rooms were converted into a parrot house, which it remained until its demolition in 2011 to make way for Penguin Beach. The basement of the building was used as part of the footprint for the new penguin pool, and the archway of the main entrance was preserved near to the spot it originally stood.
Nearby is the Eagles' Aviary. Built in 1866, this structure incorporated metalwork from the outdoor cages of the zoo's first monkey house (built in 1839), and was built on the same site, replacing a very similar aviary which had been nearby. It was demolished in 1910, and the birds moved to the extended range of aviaries on the zoo's eastern border.
We now pass a few kiosks selling light refreshments, postcards, and tickets for elephant and camel rides. These would have been available every afternoon, weather permitting, along with llama (and occasionally ostrich)-drawn carts, pony rides and other similar activities. The elephant ride would take guests alongside the Great Lawn down to the Lion House before doubling back. As the Elephant House was located in the middle garden, the elephants would have been lead through the tunnel to get to the mounting steps, and were saddled there, so saddles were kept suspended from nearby trees. On one occasion, the famous elephant Jumbo bolted back through the tunnel while wearing his saddle, and carved a gouge in the ceiling (luckily, no one was mounted at the time). In 1920, an additional larger tunnel was built, meaning the elephants could be saddled at the house.
Elephant rides stopped around 1960, though camel and donkey rides, as well as llama and pony carts continued into the 1980s.
Finally, we approach what is now the East Tunnel (but in 1904 was simply the tunnel, being the only one) from the south. This tunnel was built in the 1830s to link the south and middle gardens. In World War Two, it was used as an air raid shelter - after the 'all clear' was given, a warden would scout ahead to make sure no dangerous animals had been set free by the bombs before letting people out.
As for what's on the other side? Well, you can find out for yourselves in a week, but this series will be continuing for those who want more of the history!
Carrying on along the edge of Three Island Pond and the Main Lawn, we get to the Diving Birds' House. This was originally the 'Fish House' - the world's first public aquarium, built in 1853 (London Zoo coined the word 'aquarium', being a portmanteau of 'aquatic vivarium'). In 1882, a large tank was added to display diving birds, and the focus seems to have gradually shifted away from the fish and towards the birds. In 1903, the tank was moved to the centre and the building renamed. Small penguins, guillemots, cormorants etc would be fed fish in the diving tank at 12:00 and 5:00pm. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to actually move the penguins to their holding cages, so they're just having a little waddle around the house itself.
Next, we come to the Refreshment Rooms. The main dining room was built in 1868, though additional blocks were added in 1873 and 1878 as separate second-class and fellows dining rooms. After the Regent Building was constructed in 1929, the Refreshment Rooms were converted into a parrot house, which it remained until its demolition in 2011 to make way for Penguin Beach. The basement of the building was used as part of the footprint for the new penguin pool, and the archway of the main entrance was preserved near to the spot it originally stood.
Nearby is the Eagles' Aviary. Built in 1866, this structure incorporated metalwork from the outdoor cages of the zoo's first monkey house (built in 1839), and was built on the same site, replacing a very similar aviary which had been nearby. It was demolished in 1910, and the birds moved to the extended range of aviaries on the zoo's eastern border.
We now pass a few kiosks selling light refreshments, postcards, and tickets for elephant and camel rides. These would have been available every afternoon, weather permitting, along with llama (and occasionally ostrich)-drawn carts, pony rides and other similar activities. The elephant ride would take guests alongside the Great Lawn down to the Lion House before doubling back. As the Elephant House was located in the middle garden, the elephants would have been lead through the tunnel to get to the mounting steps, and were saddled there, so saddles were kept suspended from nearby trees. On one occasion, the famous elephant Jumbo bolted back through the tunnel while wearing his saddle, and carved a gouge in the ceiling (luckily, no one was mounted at the time). In 1920, an additional larger tunnel was built, meaning the elephants could be saddled at the house.
Elephant rides stopped around 1960, though camel and donkey rides, as well as llama and pony carts continued into the 1980s.
Finally, we approach what is now the East Tunnel (but in 1904 was simply the tunnel, being the only one) from the south. This tunnel was built in the 1830s to link the south and middle gardens. In World War Two, it was used as an air raid shelter - after the 'all clear' was given, a warden would scout ahead to make sure no dangerous animals had been set free by the bombs before letting people out.
As for what's on the other side? Well, you can find out for yourselves in a week, but this series will be continuing for those who want more of the history!
Attachments
Just the reaction we're here for!Silly me waiting to see the planet zoo images to compare with the real photos you were posting first... Just to realise that those were not real photos but made in PZ
Managed to get another tour video together just before the zoo hits the Steam Workshop tomorrow - check out the elephant and rhino house before you check out the whole zoo yourself tomorrow!
London Zoo 1904 is now available on the Steam Workshop - download today! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3464591299
ZSH Plays has been kind enough to tour the zoo on his channel. You can see his video here:
Thanks so much! As you might be able to tell, I’m a big fan of old maps and pictures, so I’m glad they enhance things!
I hope everyone is enjoying exploring London Zoo 1904 themselves! In case you missed it, you can download it here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3464591299
I have also put together a few different versions of the file - one with animals removed from the South Garden, one with animals removed from the North and Middle Gardens, and one with a lot of the surrounding city removed, which hopefully give you a few options if the original file is a bit too taxing on your machine! All of those can be found on my Steam Workshop page.
Now, on with the tour: following on in the order suggested by the official guide, once we're through the tunnel, we're going to head straight over the bridge, ignoring the Middle Garden for now. The narrow strip of ground to the north of Regent's Canal had been leased to the zoo since 1834, but had only been used as a burial ground for much of its history. The North Gate, and bridge spanning the canal were built in 1872 and opened the following year, mostly to allow easier access to guests arriving from north of Regent's Park.
Immediately facing us at the end of the bridge is the Northern Aviary. Built in 1874, this brick structure housed owls and falcons. Around 1905, it was renamed the Civets' House (I have found archive footage of a honey badger living there), as new owl aviaries were built. It was damaged by bombs during World War 2 and, as far as I can tell, was replaced with a different building on the same site housing British owls.
The sloping banks of the canal were set out as paddocks for various cranes in 1903. Compared to pretty much every other animal in the zoo, the cranes have got loads of room - I feel like these paddocks wouldn't raise any eyebrows if they were found in a modern zoo (short of the lack of mesh meaning the cranes would have been pinioned). Across the path from the paddocks is the Cranes' Winter House, providing more sheltered (if much smaller) accommodation over the colder months. I believe this was originally a tortoise house, or at least was built on the same site.
Past the North Gate, we come to the Insect House. Opened in 1881, this is the world's first purpose-built structure for the display of invertebrates (though the structure was moved from the South Garden, where it served as a refreshment building). Humidity was maintained with basins of water placed under the tanks, and on the floor (very scientific), and the consistent high temperatures meant the building also housed small tropical animals, such as hornbills and birds of paradise. A new insect house was built in 1913, and this building was converted for use by small mammals such as rodents (as well as the famously small giant anteater...). This building was also damaged by bombs during World War 2.
A little walk away, we come to the North Pheasantry, built in 1901, and Northern Stables, built in 1904. Both of these were fairly standard 'long row of cages' set-ups for pheasants and equines, respectively, though the stables were originally constructed for 'surplus stock'. The stables seem to have disappeared quite shortly after they were built, and were certainly gone before 1914, when the pheasantry was massively expanded (to be significantly wider than the elephant or giraffe houses). The western part of the pheasantry still survives, though it is not publicly accessible.
Swoop!
I have also put together a few different versions of the file - one with animals removed from the South Garden, one with animals removed from the North and Middle Gardens, and one with a lot of the surrounding city removed, which hopefully give you a few options if the original file is a bit too taxing on your machine! All of those can be found on my Steam Workshop page.
Now, on with the tour: following on in the order suggested by the official guide, once we're through the tunnel, we're going to head straight over the bridge, ignoring the Middle Garden for now. The narrow strip of ground to the north of Regent's Canal had been leased to the zoo since 1834, but had only been used as a burial ground for much of its history. The North Gate, and bridge spanning the canal were built in 1872 and opened the following year, mostly to allow easier access to guests arriving from north of Regent's Park.
Immediately facing us at the end of the bridge is the Northern Aviary. Built in 1874, this brick structure housed owls and falcons. Around 1905, it was renamed the Civets' House (I have found archive footage of a honey badger living there), as new owl aviaries were built. It was damaged by bombs during World War 2 and, as far as I can tell, was replaced with a different building on the same site housing British owls.
The sloping banks of the canal were set out as paddocks for various cranes in 1903. Compared to pretty much every other animal in the zoo, the cranes have got loads of room - I feel like these paddocks wouldn't raise any eyebrows if they were found in a modern zoo (short of the lack of mesh meaning the cranes would have been pinioned). Across the path from the paddocks is the Cranes' Winter House, providing more sheltered (if much smaller) accommodation over the colder months. I believe this was originally a tortoise house, or at least was built on the same site.
Past the North Gate, we come to the Insect House. Opened in 1881, this is the world's first purpose-built structure for the display of invertebrates (though the structure was moved from the South Garden, where it served as a refreshment building). Humidity was maintained with basins of water placed under the tanks, and on the floor (very scientific), and the consistent high temperatures meant the building also housed small tropical animals, such as hornbills and birds of paradise. A new insect house was built in 1913, and this building was converted for use by small mammals such as rodents (as well as the famously small giant anteater...). This building was also damaged by bombs during World War 2.
A little walk away, we come to the North Pheasantry, built in 1901, and Northern Stables, built in 1904. Both of these were fairly standard 'long row of cages' set-ups for pheasants and equines, respectively, though the stables were originally constructed for 'surplus stock'. The stables seem to have disappeared quite shortly after they were built, and were certainly gone before 1914, when the pheasantry was massively expanded (to be significantly wider than the elephant or giraffe houses). The western part of the pheasantry still survives, though it is not publicly accessible.
Swoop!
