Florida tourist/roadside attractions---Africa, USA--Boca Raton, Fla.

Note the diamond shaped punched in the right corner, of the above photo. This seems like a great economical way to sell a ticket. I would think more people would keep a post card, then a "ticket stub, and the continued "word of mouth" would be great.
America's first cageless African wildlife tourist attraction. Racine, Wisconsin is a medium-size midwestern city, home to many inventors and entrepreneurs. In 1897, John P. Pedersen was born in Racine, the son of Danish immigrants.
After serving in World War I, John married Lillian Nelson, another Racine native and they headed west to California. They lived in the Imperial Valley where they tried farming in the desert heat. The landscape reminded the Pedersens of what Africa might look like. They imagined African animals roaming across the California land. As their money was running out, John landed a job with the Southern Pacific Railway. With the money they saved, he sent Lillian back to Racine to have their first child. Jack Pedersen was born in Racine in 1923. John soon returned to Racine to be with his family.
While working on a house, John fell off a roof and injured his back. Lillian suggested that a warmer climate might help, and the family was on the way to Florida.

John and Lillian never forgot their dream of having an African wildlife park and botanical garden. As Jack and mother Lillian were driving in Boca Raton, they came across some grasslands dotted with pine trees and sable palm that looked like an African savannah. John purchased the 300 acres in 1950 from the City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County Commission. The land was originally homesteaded as an orange grove by the Raulerson family, one of the original Boca Raton pioneer families. The transformation to an African Jungle began. Miles of canals and lakes were dug. An artificial waterfall and geyser were engineered by Jack Pedersen utilizing huge pumps to propel the water.

Jack flew to British East Africa to begin the process of animal collection. Working with Dr. Cecil Cade and his son Richard, Jack spent seven months in Africa collecting rare Grevy's zebras, ostrich, cranes, wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. Special permission was granted to capture the Grevy's zebra as they are almost extinct in the wild. It was the largest shipment of animals ever to leave Africa aboard one ship. The crates that held the ostrich had to be constantly rebuilt to allow for the fast-growing creatures. On March 10, 1953 Africa U.S.A. opened its doors to the public. The admission to the gardens areas was free, and the Jungle Train Tour was 95 cents. Many major newspapers did full-page write-ups because of the uniqueness of the park - a zoo with no cages where the visitors could safely interact with the animals. Many animals were added by purchasing animals from other zoos such as camels, elephants and giraffe.
In the 1950's, it was difficult to import giraffes directly into the United States due to strict regulations from the Department of Agriculture. The Department also refused to let Africa U.S.A. import giraffes because they were a "private" zoo. A giraffe was purchased by Africa U.S.A. from Kenya but the Department of Agriculture refused to release him to Africa U.S.A. So off to court they went. Jack Pedersen flew to Washington D.C. and assisted Africa U.S.A. attorney Ernest Tucker in arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals. The court held that Africa U.S.A. had just as much right to have a giraffe as any public zoo. The poor giraffe was quarantined 18 months in New Jersey. The court battle cost over $17,000 in legal fees so the giraffe was named "Moneybags". The Department of Agriculture still was not through. They billed Africa U.S.A. $2,100 for the giraffe's food. Back to court they went and again Africa U.S.A. won. These victories against the Department of Agriculture would prove costly later on.

As the 1950's continued. Africa U.S.A. became more and more popular as a tourist attraction with 300,000 visitors a year. John Pedersen had succeeded, perhaps too well, on putting Boca Raton on the map. Housing developments such as Boca Isles began to spring up around the Africa U.S.A. property. Many residents complained about the noise and traffic that Africa U.S.A. contributed to. A legal battle over the path that Camino Real would take ensued as the City of Boca Raton tried to condemn land. John Pedersen argued that the crooked path that Camino Real would take was dangerous but he was overruled by the city council. At about the same time the legal "victories" against the Department of Agriculture were to take their toll. Even though no animals had been directly imported from Africa for years, African red ticks were supposedly found on some animals. The Department insisted on spraying and several animals fell over dead where they stood. This and the Camino Real situation made John Pedersen realize that his welcome in Boca Raton was over. He sold the Africa U.S.A. attraction and a corporation ran it for two years. After they failed to make payments, John took the property back and ran it during its final year of operation. Several developers were anxious to buy the land. Africa U.S.A. was sold and closed its doors on September 4, 1961. The animals were sold at auction to zoos around the country. John Pedersen was 65 at the time and tired of fighting city hall. The Africa U.S.A. era had come to an end. The Pedersens retired to Lake Worth until 1971 when they moved to Australia. They returned to Lake Worth in 1974 to be near family. Lillian Pedersen died in 1985 but John Pedersen reached the age of 98.