Girlich - San Francisco Zoo

The 48-acre Fleishhacker Zoo opened in 1929 and featured a small number of low-maintenance animals used for entertainment. In response to the Great Depression, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to stimulate the economy and generate jobs. In 1935, WPA funding was received to expand the zoo. Noted zoologist and future director Edmund Heller teamed with architect Lewis Hobart to design 10 WPA exhibits. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

Native San Franciscan Herbert Fleishhacker (18721957) was a businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist. He became president of the Board of Park Commission in 1922 and proposed projects to create recreational facilities throughout the city. Upon meeting wild animal broker and future zoo director George Bistany, the two discussed plans for the future Fleishhacker Zoo. Fleishhacker visited the zoo and its animals regularly and knew all the keepers on a first-name basis. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

Architect Lewis Hobart directed that workers build ten structures to house the animals and birds in quarters resembling their native habitats as close as science can devise. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

Fleishhacker purchased the 60-acre site due south of Fort Funston from the Spring Valley Water Company in 1922 at a price of $4,000 per acre. He also funded construction of the future Fleishhacker Pool and Playfield. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

WPA workers excavate the ground in 1936 for the site of Fleishhacker Playfield. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

This 1936 photograph shows WPA workers laying the metal foundations for the moat wall located in the .5-acre elephant exhibit. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

Workers in the fall of 1938 begin to build the scaffolding for the elephant moat wall. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

In 1936, construction began on one of the five bear dens located on the northern side of the zoo. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

This 1937 photograph depicts the construction of a bear pit. Once completed, these pits were filled with water to provide bears with a place to relax and cool down on those sunny San Francisco days. Note the construction of the Aviary in the upper left corner. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

Heller and Hobart directed architects to build a zoo that would be fireproof, permanent, and economical to maintain. The building material used was reinforced concrete, and visitors were provided with an unobstructed view of the animals. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)

The small pachyderm exhibits were completed in 1938 to house the thick-skinned animals. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Zoo.)