All dates are approximate. This is the zoo's original map from 1934, which was reprinted in Let the Lions Roar: The History of Brookfield Zoo. This also doubles as the original master plan, as it includes a significant number of exhibits labeled with an asterisk as 'future developments', including several bird exhibits that did not come to be. You may notice comparing this map with those below that a number of habitats seem to be missing later! I have transcribed the key below as even on the actual map it is hard to fully read. Some of the asterisks may be imprecise: 1. South Entrance Gate and Offices of Administration 2. Small Tropical Mammals 3. Northern Bears 4. Mink, Otter, Fisher* 5. Hospital and Zoological Research* 6. Opossum, Prairie Dog, Etc.* 7. North American Panorama* 8. Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Jaguars 9. Large Antelopes* 10. Wolves, Foxes, Hyenas* 11. North Gate and Comfort Stations 12. Northern Tigers* 13. Scene South American Animals* 14. Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, etc. 15. Australia House and Scene 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Zebra, Yak, Antelopes, Etc 21. Storage Barn* 22. Buffalo and Wild Cattle enclosures* 23. Director's Residence 24. Children's Playground 25. Refreshments 26. Small Antelopes, Gazelles 27. Contemporary Illinois Mammals 28. Yak Enclosure* 29. Zebras, Wild Asses, Horses* 30. Wild Bird Sanctuary 31. American Water Fowl Lake 32. Sea Lions, Seals, Walrus 33. Refreshments, Luncheons 34. Aviary, Eagle-Like Birds* 35. Cranes, Storks, Upland Birds* 36. Cage for Large Birds of Flight* 37. Tropical Aquatic Birds 38. Formal Basin for Exotic Water Fowl 39. Reptile House 40. Apes* 41. Monkey Island 42. Primate House 43. Aquatic Reptiles* 44. Birds, Insects and Lower Forms 45. Ostrich-like Birds* 46. Pheasants, Quail, etc.* 47. Power House, Well, Water Su- 48. Commissiary, Garage, Stable 49. Raccoons 50. Green House* Cs. Comfort Stations P. Picknicking Area * Future Developments My source for this map lists it as 1948. This better resembles the zoo's more famous layout as many outdoor habitats and aviaries from the previous map not coming into existence - most prominently the North American Panorama has become a large Restaurant instead, which still stands today; indeed, a lot of the zoo's eastern side never came to fruition. Antelope are now housed where the proposed horse/zebra exhibit was to be, and a parking lot has filled the proposed antelope building site. This is an illustrated version from the late 1940s or early 1950s. Mei-Lan the panda has moved to a new habitat by bear grottos, though he only used it for a short time before dying. The removal of pandas and gorillas from that area allow it to be fully be an Antelope area. Notice the leftmost branch of Perching Bird House is still the Parrot House and pheasant aviary, which were often treated as separate exhibits. The same illustrated map revised for the 1960s - you can see Seven Seas in the bottom left, with the new dolphinarium, pinniped exhibits, and penguins, which are now removed from Aquatic Bird House, Seal Mountain is now Dall Sheep Mountain, the panda is replaced with a black bear, and llama are added. This map from a 1970s-1980 guidebook is surprisingly similar - Kodiak Island has become Dall Sheep Island, while Dall Mountain is now Ibex Mountain. Wolf Woods has been added and Construction has finally began on Tropic World. The Ridge is a secondary exhibit for ibex. The Illinois exhibit was razed in the 1960s due to disrepair, with the Arctic Fox exhibit looking much more out of place now! I cannot find a solid source for a decent quality map in the late 80s or early 90s. If someone can supply one, I would be happy to ask a moderator to update the post. Habitat Africa the Savannah, the Swamp, the Living Coast, Habitat Africa the Forest, Wolf Woods, and Hamill Family Play Zoo were all in development from 1993 to 2003. This poor-quality map is from an archived version of Brookfield Zoo's website around 1998-2002. This is another lower-quality map. The absence of the Swamp, Baboon Island, and Be a Bird makes identifying the exact timeframe confusing, especially as it does include Habitat Africa - the Forest, which opened in 2000, after the Swamp had been open for a while, and Baboon Island was not closed at this time either. By 2005, a lot has changed. Ibex Mountain has become Ibex Island, Reptile House has closed for good, the Giraffe and Antelope Houses have become Habitat Africa, the indoor exhibits behind the big cats are new exhibits, the Primate House is now the Swamp, the Living Coast is over the old Seven Seas, Be a Bird is now Feathers and Scales, and the Play Zoo has replaced Small Mammal House. Wolf Woods is now open! More than ten years later, not much is different. Ibex Island has given way to Great Bear Wilderness, the bear grottos and baboon island were closed, the Fragile Kingdom has been renamed, the aardvarks are gone, and Hamill Family Wild Encounters has taken up the old Children's Zoo. The illustrations on both this map and the illustrated map (the above updated) have been changed to eliminate elephants, ostriches, cassowary, etc. The previous master plan, which was never put into practice, seeming to have been abandoned by the time Wild Encounters was constructed and fairly distinct in the North American area's execution. The idea of giving gorillas outdoor access is still happening next year, but will also apply to other primates than what is listed here.
I'm sure that this took you a considerable amount of time to put together...and it's great! Thanks very much for the effort. I have a large collection of zoo maps, but not many from Brookfield, and I find it fascinating to see how zoos evolve over time.
