Another building that still stands to this day in this update, plus some exciting new stuff at the end!
The Reptile House
Completed in 1883, this was the zoo's second reptile house, though its first constructed specifically to house them (the first one was originally the home of the large carnivores before the construction of the carnivore terrace). It was occasionally referred to as 'Jumbo's gift' at the time, as a large part of the funds for its construction (£2,000!) came from the sale of the famous elephant Jumbo to P. T. Barnum in 1882 (this will not be the last reference to that particular pachyderm as the recreation continues - he left his mark in more ways than one).
The entry porch to the south housed amphibians (or 'batrachians' as they were sometimes called at the time) which did not require as high a temperature as other residents of the house.
Within the house proper, moveable cases were arranged along the south wall, while cases built into the walls lined the others. The east and west housed lizards and venomous snakes, and the larger cases on the north wall mostly housed constrictors, though there was a tank at each end for interesting fish specimens (electric eels and lungfish in 1904). The built-in cases could only be accessed from a service corridor, and the slides at the backs of the venomous snake cases were set high up to prevent escape.
Most prominently, the building also contained three pools in the middle of the floor, which housed crocodiles. These were arranged according to size rather than type, with smaller individuals inhabiting the smaller pools to each side, and the large central pool housing adults. The central pool also housed manatees on a few occasions, though I assume the crocodiles were moved out while they were in residence.
The building still stands today, though it was converted into a bird house in 1926, when a new reptile house was built (this famous building recently closed, and there are rumblings that it might be converted into a museum of the zoo). The bird house originally followed the basic plan of the reptile house, with cages built into the walls, and central cages corresponding to the old pools, but the layout was reworked when it was reopened as the Blackburn Pavilion in 2008. While the lobby area pays homage to the building's Victorian origins, the back half of the building is now a series of tropical bird walkthroughs. I think there were a few tortoises in there the last time I visited too, so it still houses reptiles to this day!
To play us out today, a longer video tour of the building. Let me know what you think of this one, and I'll try and expand on this sort of thing in the future with similar videos of larger areas of the zoo.
The Reptile House
Completed in 1883, this was the zoo's second reptile house, though its first constructed specifically to house them (the first one was originally the home of the large carnivores before the construction of the carnivore terrace). It was occasionally referred to as 'Jumbo's gift' at the time, as a large part of the funds for its construction (£2,000!) came from the sale of the famous elephant Jumbo to P. T. Barnum in 1882 (this will not be the last reference to that particular pachyderm as the recreation continues - he left his mark in more ways than one).
The entry porch to the south housed amphibians (or 'batrachians' as they were sometimes called at the time) which did not require as high a temperature as other residents of the house.
Within the house proper, moveable cases were arranged along the south wall, while cases built into the walls lined the others. The east and west housed lizards and venomous snakes, and the larger cases on the north wall mostly housed constrictors, though there was a tank at each end for interesting fish specimens (electric eels and lungfish in 1904). The built-in cases could only be accessed from a service corridor, and the slides at the backs of the venomous snake cases were set high up to prevent escape.
Most prominently, the building also contained three pools in the middle of the floor, which housed crocodiles. These were arranged according to size rather than type, with smaller individuals inhabiting the smaller pools to each side, and the large central pool housing adults. The central pool also housed manatees on a few occasions, though I assume the crocodiles were moved out while they were in residence.
The building still stands today, though it was converted into a bird house in 1926, when a new reptile house was built (this famous building recently closed, and there are rumblings that it might be converted into a museum of the zoo). The bird house originally followed the basic plan of the reptile house, with cages built into the walls, and central cages corresponding to the old pools, but the layout was reworked when it was reopened as the Blackburn Pavilion in 2008. While the lobby area pays homage to the building's Victorian origins, the back half of the building is now a series of tropical bird walkthroughs. I think there were a few tortoises in there the last time I visited too, so it still houses reptiles to this day!
To play us out today, a longer video tour of the building. Let me know what you think of this one, and I'll try and expand on this sort of thing in the future with similar videos of larger areas of the zoo.
