This excellent very comprehensive zoo is located a few miles West of downtown in Forest Park, a large area of rolling hills that was the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and contains several large cultural attractions including the World’s Fair Pavilion, Saint Louis Art Museum, and Missouri History Museum, all housed in historic buildings. The zoo itself is a combination of historic buildings and modern exhibits, and is accessed from two entrances on the South side of the park. Its organization is not strictly taxonomic, but it definitely leans that way. It is divided into six zones which are generally easy to distinguish and navigate, although the central zone is simply the crossroads of the zoo. It is a well loved and maintained facility that provides a wide range of experiences, from classic indoor exhibits closely arranged by type to meandering immersive paths with glimpses of roomy habitats. The two entrances are both through facilities that are about 25 years old. The smaller entrance is South Entrance, an arced arrangement of several simple buildings and a plaza with a sea lion sculpture grouping in a small lake with shooting fountains. This is located in the zone called Lakeside Crossing, which is at the center of the property and is simply composed of a larger lake and several food stands, including the nice octagonal pavilion with a rooftop clock tower called Lakeside Café that has a large waterfront dining veranda. Also located here is a similarly styled open-air building that houses a large ray petting tank with an admission fee. Wooded gardens and walkways surround the lake and lead to an adjoining zone, Discovery Corner. This is the area that contains the North Entrance to the zoo, the larger of the two. This entrance is in a rather large two level building with a skylit central atrium leading to several exhibit rooms, visitor services, a gift shop, and a café. The building is an orderly assemblage of octagonal pavilions with modern pitched metal roofs and features tiled exterior walls with large animal bas-reliefs mounted near the pediments for a whimsical touch. As an entrance, it does not establish a tone for the wild experiences to come, but it is a great efficient facility where visitors can get oriented before exploring. One of the exhibit rooms currently houses a small collection of amphibian exhibits and educational displays which is dominated by a large glass-fronted open-air water habitat with a simulated forest shore for a Chinese Giant Salamander which far exceeds those I have seen for the same species. Near this entrance is one of the four small shed-style train stations for a nice ride that circles most of the zoo and features a long tunnel. Also part of the Discovery Corner zone is the Children’s Zoo and Insectarium. The Children’s Zoo is a modest admission area and the only part of the zoo I did not see so I will not review it, however the nearby Insectarium is a multiple-roomed low dark building with a nice educational set of small insect displays that leads to a small lush walkthrough geodesic dome for butterflies. Leading off from Lakeside Crossing is the zoo’s oldest area and only formally laid out zone, Historic Hill. A series of three nicely restored historic Mediterranean Revival style exhibit buildings line a central sloped green space, the center of which contains several small freeform ponds and an average low rocky sea lion exhibit. The far end of this central axis has a formal terrace with a statue of Marlin Perkins, the famous former director of the zoo and host of the TV animal show ‘Wild Kingdom’. Nearby is a medium sized sea lion show amphitheater located just off the axis. The first of the buildings is the Herpetarium and it features the central skylit atrium with tropical plants and columned hallways that all three buildings have. Surrounding the atrium are both feature exhibits and small exhibits of reptile and amphibian wall habitats as well as a side room with larger naturalistic displays of crocodilians. Together these exhibits form an extensive collection in a beautiful classic building. The next building is the Primate House which is nearly as beautiful, although the challenge of providing its inhabitants with satisfactory habitats is far greater here and less successful. Glass fronted enclosures for lion-tailed macaques, numerous lemur species, and several others feature rocky backdrops and sufficent enrichment, but the spaces are generally limited and vary in size so that several seem too small. The third building is the beautiful Bird House, similar in form to the other two, and features mostly small mixed species exhibits with floor-to-ceiling harp wire and lush plantings that make many of the views to the birds transparent. This feature and the concentration of exhibits in this building make it another nice experience in this threesome of updated classic facilities that were probably grim in their original display styles. A fourth historic building is next to the Bird House and has a sculptural bas-relief of an elephant, but it is not open. I imagine this was the original pachyderm building at the center of some larger yards? It appears that it now serves as a support building for the Bird House as well as the Bird Garden behind it, which is a nice set of modern small outdoor aviaries set along a meandering pathway and a slightly larger walk-in aviary. The last feature of this zone is also an avian attraction, called Cypress Swamp. It is a great walkthrough aviary highlighting aquatic birds of North America and is housed in the restored 1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage which was built by the Smithsonian and purchased by the city for permanent display after the event, thus starting the zoo! This large arched steel structure is the most historic part of Historic Hill and completes a fine collection of bird displays. Another zone that adjoins the central Lakeside Crossing is The Wild, and also surrounds another lake with several waterfowl islands. This zone is the most incongruous in its offerings, with a requisite Conservation Carousel in a round peaked roof building, train station, small older side-by-side prairie dog and sun bear exhibits, a fairly modern great ape complex, and a historic bear grotto complex from the 1920s. The five bear grottoes are in a row and of average size and detail for the era, but only three are occupied by black bear, grizzly bear, and spectacled bear. A fourth grotto is empty and was clearly used for polar bear at one time because of its poorly rendered snowy features. However it is the central grotto that steals the show here…it has been repurposed as the entrance to an entirely different exhibit. This is the excellent Penguin and Puffin Coast, which has a curving walkway into the former grotto which goes past an outdoor habitat for Humboldt penguins and leads into a cave and doorway. Once inside, the visitor is in a new building and an entirely different environment because the two Antarctic penguin exhibits and one Arctic puffin exhibit are not concealed behind glass. Therefore, the exhibit building is very chilly and rather smelly and loud too, and it’s a wonderful experience to be so close to these birds which are normally separated from visitors. Their habitats are rocky and they feature pools with glass underwater viewing and variable atmospheric lighting projected on the high barrel-vaulted ceiling above. An entirely different environment is located nearby in the Fragile Forest, a complex of three outdoor great ape habitats that adjoin a large indoor bedroom building called Jungle of the Apes which was closed during the fine weather. The gorilla and chimpanzee exhibits are open and roomy with rocky backdrops, while the orangutan exhibit is smaller and netted but has a good amount of climbing oppurtunities. All feature multiple viewing areas in themed shelters and rockwork. The next zone is Red Rocks, composed of two exhibit areas. The first is the Red Rocks themselves, a great very extensive set of hoofstock exhibits with rocky moats and walls and outcrops and shade trees which dates from mid-century. This is my second favorite complex at this zoo and offers large herbivore fans the opportunity to see a plethora of species in an area that is a combination of average to roomy sized yards in close proximity. The collection is fantastic and the exhibits are mostly well populated and many are mixed species with large storks and cranes. It reminds me of the San Diego Zoo’s former Horn and Hoof Mesa, may it rest in peace. I suspect Red Rocks was inspired by that zoo’s hoofstock area, and its exciting and intense layout is even an improvement along with its more realistic rockwork. Swine represented include Chacoan peccaries, warthogs, Visayan warty pigs, and two yards of babirusas. Reticulated giraffes and ostriches share a yard while the okapis have their own. The horse family here includes three yards of Somali wild asses and two yards of Grevy’s zebras. Bactrian camels and banteng and Transcaspian urials are the only species of their kinds, while goat-antelopes are represented by Sichuan takins and central Chinese gorals which share a yard. Antelope and gazelle exhibits are comprised of yards for bongo, lesser kudu, addax, Arabian oryx, gerenuk, steenbok, red-flanked duiker, Speke’s gazelle, Cuvier’s gazelle, Mhorr gazelle, and Soemmerring’s gazelle, a few of which share yards. Had enough? Throw in a yard of red kangaroos and Tammar wallabies! The other exhibit area of this zone won the AZA Exhibit Award in 1976, one of the first ones awarded, but does not impress anymore. It is Big Cat Country, a raised central outdoor plaza with extensive feline information graphics surrounded by four peaked netted leopard enclosures which are too small and three average size open pit enclosures which visitors can walk around on all sides and look down. These pits are for African lions, Amur tigers, and jaguars or leopards (I forget which, but it was nice to see either in an open enclosure). This complex is rather architectural, with a minimal amount of naturalism and a maximum amount of unadorned tall moat walls. The last zone is comprised of a single exhibit complex, the best and most immersive part of the zoo. It is River’s Edge. This excellent area is a lushly planted meandering loop trail which has a common thread of water features that form waterfalls, streams, moats, swimming pools, and even an aquarium. The trail interprets four geographic areas with representative exhibits for each, mostly mammals. Exhibits are encountered from multiple viewpoints, usually small glimpses of larger naturalistic habitats that are spaced out of view from one another, most featuring enclosures of rockwork simulating exposed riverbanks with plenty of vegetation. Educational graphics are kept to a minimum; instead, a folding field guide is available at the start of the trail and has a map with paragraphs of information for each exhibit along the way. This approach is great because it enhances the wild feeling of the experience by not cluttering viewing areas with signs that most visitors do not read; instead, they can choose not to read the field guide in their hands! Educational recreations such as marabou stork nest and impala carcass line the path but are also only interpreted in the field guide. The South American exhibits come first, with a few macaw perch trees set in the impressive first waterfall area, and then nice bushdog and capybara/giant anteater habitats. The largest area is next, Africa, which starts with a large black rhino habitat with a nice pond. This area also includes a wonderful mixed species exhibit of bat-eared foxes and red river hogs. I could have watched the foxes rubbing up against the hogs for hours! An average carmine bee-eater aviary is next, followed by a fantastic hippo exhibit with underwater viewing. Then a nice spotted hyena habitat sits across from a roomy cheetah habitat, and a small termite mound enclosure houses dwarf mongoose within view of the cats and a themed education shelter. Asia is next, with a great set of elephant habitats with pools and waterfalls and an extensive forested back area, with a small themed giftshop nearby. Finally, A Missouri River themed cabin and stream lead to a cave with a tall native river fish aquarium tank. Upon exiting, a nice plaza and café complete the complex. Saint Louis Zoo is a full day experience and is a great bargain because entry is free! Like any zoo, it has plenty of small extra admission attractions, but I wonder how it supports itself with these. There must be a great amount of community support, and this zoo is a great asset. Admission is underpriced by 15 dollars! The extensive collections, variety of experiences, pleasant clean grounds, and wonderful exhibits make this my number 11 ranked zoo of the 45 I have visited, just below Henry Doorly Zoo and just above Los Angeles Zoo. My top 50 themed exhibit complexes list now includes River’s Edge at number 19. In my top individual exhibits lists, the Antarctic Penguin Exhibit in Penguin and Puffin Coast is now number 8 for birds, Hippo Harbor in River’s Edge is number 15 in aquatic mammals, Asian Elephant Exhibit 2 is number 22 for large mammals, Bat-Eared Fox and Red River Hog Exhibit in River’s Edge is number 13 in small mammals, Dwarf Mongoose Exhibit in River’s Edge is number 25 in small mammals, and Chinese Giant Salamander Exhibit at the North Entrance building is number 12 in reptiles and amphibians. I have posted pictures in the gallery!
I visited the St Louis Zoo 4th of July weekend. I stayed at the nearby Hampton Inn and walked to the zoo and back. I visited the zoo twice, first on Friday, July 3rd, then again the morning of Saturday, July 4th. It rained the 4th of July. It began raining during the early morning and continued to rain until around 11:00am. So, I had the zoo pretty much to myself for most of Saturday morning. I loved the St Louis Zoo. Not everything. But, the zoo grounds, I thought, were pretty outstanding. One of the prettiest zoos, if not prettiest, I've been to. So, I read geomorph's very detailed review with a great deal of interest. What I loved: free admission to the zoo, the food (they serve breakfast! Angus burgers! beer! Coke slushes! Ice cream waffle cones!), the stingray exhibit (free 1st hour Sat morning), free outdoor concert Friday evening, that lovely lake in the middle of the zoo, the Historic Hill exhibits which included the above described reptile and primate houses with atriums, the hoofstock area and the Rivers Edge, truly an outstanding exhibit and my personal favorite. I like hoofstock, they're just not my faves, and the SLZ's Red Rock exhibits were a delight. I saw takin on top of the boulders reminding me they are like goats. I saw okapi. It was breathtaking. The rain had finally subsided when I was in the Rivers Edge and I turned the junglepath to be confronted by a hyena which scared the bejeezus out of me. Huge rhino, elephant and cheetah exhibits which allowed me to see them clearly even tho they were in the rear of their exhibits. Terrific hippo exhibit (4!) with an underwater viewing window. I did not care for their ape or big cat exhibits? The chimps and gorillas were too far away (I prefer to see them up close, just my personal preference) and the orang exhibit was kind of strange with the hill abutting the viewing window and the orang's interest in the drain cover under the front corner of the viewing window. I liked the banners depicting each of the chimps and their names. It was a really nice touch. Absolutely did not like the concrete 80s leopard pits with the concrete plaza. I walked by the prairie dog exhibit several times before I realized there were live prairie dogs in there. Another plus: there were keepers at the Reptile House, penguin, bears and Borneo Sun Bear and a docent at the gorilla exhibit Friday afternoon and a keeper at the Primate House Sat morning who answered questions. At one of the gift shops, I purchased the book "Sailing With Noah" written by the zoo's director, Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, who is an anthropologist. It's very good.
Great review of one of my favorite zoos. One comment: I agree there is some similarity between the now-vanished Horn and Hoof mesa at San Diego and the "Red Rocks" complex at St. Louis, but the latter preceded the former by many years (I think Red Rocks was built in the 1930s--WPA). The species diversity and mixes are really interesting. And to the zoos that seem to have given up on the idea of creating a green, naturalistic elephant exhibit (e.g. San Diego), they should take a look at the beautiful Asian elephant forest created as part of the River's Edge complex. Magnificent.
Geomorph's review brought back a lot of great memories! Thank you! And, thanks for your pictures because my photos have rain drops on them. I loved all the zoos I visited this year but I think I loved St Louis the best.
