The Reptile House was built in 1937 for 190,000.00. St. Louis seemed to take pride in pointing out how much their buildings cost. Some of the most beautiful and unique in buildings in the zoo world.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Vintage St. Louis Zoo
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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4 comments:
Make that 1927. It was a large reptile display for the day. In order to get support from the Board they had to add a Small Mammal wing to the building. It has been remodelled a few times, with respect to the old decor, but still a classic.
Jim,
Why in the world would the board(not that most boards make a lot of sense anyway) want a small mammal wing in the reptile house? Unless it was for rat's, rabbit's, or mice to feed the reptiles, I don't make the connection?
Wade
There weren't many reptile exhibits at the time anywhere. There were many who felt that reptiles were the "Devil's Animals", not something to share with the family. Mr. Perkins and Moody Lentz put together a small reptile display in one of the hoofed stock barns (guess around 1925), a few snakes featuring two large pythons. The exhibit was so popular the lines to get in were over a block long. That and a nice friendly little mammal exhibit convinced the Board to build the Reptile House in a 4 to 3 vote.
Jim,
4 to 3 sound's more like they were coerced instead of convinced.
Wade
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