Vintage Melbourne Zoo Update

James Northfield Poster--1939

On Jan. 29, 2011 I posted thread's with photo's of the Art Deco entrance at the Melborne Zoo(type Melbourne in the search bar on the top left) as well as vintage pictures of the Melbourne Zoo. I noted that there was at one time a "monkey house" that I had never seen pictures of, and it has sense been torn down. I asked if anyone had access to any photo's of the the building and Robin Grow, President Art Deco & Modernism Society was kind enough to respond with these great pictures as well as an article, below that he had authored about the monkey house. I had always assumed in reading about it, that it was a building that housed monkey, and was surprised to learn that it was more like a monkey island with surrounding walls, very similar as I learned to the Lubetkin Penguin Pool at the London Zoo. The lettering on the front of the monkey house is exactly like the lettering on the Brookfield Zoo elephant house also. Great photos and article, and I thank Robin very much for sharing them and will look forward to his insight on Art Deco in the zoo world. I am continually amazed at the changing "styles" of zoo architecture.





Kangaroo and Polar Bear statues on either side of the entrance gate at the Melbourne Zoo


Photo's courtesy of Robin Grow