Beardsley Zoo

History

In 1878, James Beardsley, a wealthy cattle dealer, donated over 100 acres (400,000 m²) to the city of Bridgeport. In 1884, the city contracted Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for creating New York City's Central Park, to create a design for Beardsley Park. Olmsted's plan was to create a simple, rural park for the residents to enjoy. [] Fredrick Law Olmsted was the principal architect of the site. Architect Joseph W. Northrup designed Island Bridge, a bridge to an island in the park. Beardsley Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. :6 The city of Bridgeport was also home of Phineas T. Barnum and his world famous circus. At the time of the park's creation, Barnum usually exercised his animals through the streets of Bridgeport, and it was common to see zebras and camels walking up and down the city's Main Street. After Beardsley Park was created, Barnum and the circus company began exercising the animals there. [] In 1920, Bridgeport Parks Commissioner Wesley Hayes began a campaign to create a city zoo within the park. He requested that the citizens of Bridgeport contribute animals to start the zoo. In the first year there were eighteen exotic birds donated. Barnum and Bailey Circus also donated some of their retired animals to the zoo. [] In 1997, the Connecticut Zoological Society, a nonprofit support group for the zoo, purchased the zoo from the city. The society continues to run the zoo as a private, nonprofit institution with assistance from the state of Connecticut and the city of Bridgeport. []

Features

at Beardsley Zoo]]

The zoo's collection includes peccaries, prairie dogs, bisons, alligators, foxes, tigers, and wolves. There is also a bald eagle exhibit, as well as exhibits focusing on domesticated farm animals, reptiles, and the rainforest.

The zoo also has a carousel and one of the largest greenhouses in Connecticut. At the entrance to the zoo, a pair of brick buildings that had served as trolley barns for the city of Bridgeport now hold administrative offices.

The zoo is divided up into five sections: Rainforest, Predators, Aviary, Hoofstock, and Farmyard. In each section of the zoo there is a large range of animals to experience. In the rainforest, there are anacondas, poison dart frogs, ibis, caymen, tanengers, Ocelots, Saki Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, and Pygmy Mamosets. In the Predator section of the zoo you can visit the Amur Tigers, Lynx, and Andean Bears. Meanwhile right across from the predator section is the Aviary where there are a wide variety of ducks, American Alligators, Fox, Otters, White Tail Deer and, soon to come, Bald Eagles. In the Hoofstock section of the zoo you can experience the Andean Condor, Timber, Red and Maned wolves, along with peccaries, Prarie Dogs, Bison, Pronghorns, and a Turkey Vulture.

References

External links

• http://www.beardsleyzoo.org/

Beardsley Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic District
Location:	1875 Noble Ave., Bridgeport, Connecticut
Coordinates:	Coordinates:
Area:	18,118 acres (7,332 ha)
Architect:	Olmsted, Fredrick Law; Northrup, Joseph W.
Architectural style(s):	Queen Anne, Modern Movement
Governing body:	State
Added to NRHP:	March 18, 1999
NRHP Reference#:	98000357