Thursday, May 8, 2008

Milwaukee's First Zoo: Postcard Collection at UWM




These are from the Postcard Collection @ UWM's library. One finds many artistic images of the zoo that would have been used to attract folks to Milwaukee. The gaces remind fo Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. It seems veyr confined and its unsettling to me. I think taht if animals must be held captive for our enjoyment, we need to do everything we can to make their lives pleasant. The images of the zebra and lions look like some pretty dull existences. Barless Bear exhibit does look cool, and feels like they are a bit more free, but its still in the zoo. In any case, what follows is what was printed on the back of these postcards>


- "Milwaukee's pride, Washington Park, an immense playground, 150 acres of rolling lawns, shady walks and beautiful drives. Contains a large artificial lake of 13 acres for boating, canoeing, and skating. Also, the zoological gardens where about 900 specimens donated by the Washington Park Zoological Society are on display for enjoyment of visitors."

- "There are about one hundred boxes of water lily plants distributed among the four ponds in Washington Park. Each box contains five or six plants whose beautiful blossoms are admired by thousands each season."

- "Prominent as a gathering place for music lovers is the Blatz Temple, a modern music shell where outstanding artists perform every year in a full summer schedule of concerts, operas, and cultural programs."

-Sheep Mountain Postcard
"5,000 tons of Lannon Stone were used for building this miniature mountain, 236 feet long, 118 feet wide, height 27 feet; a stairway leading to the upper part of the hill for distribution of food. Narrow paths are provided, intercepted with crevices and jutting crags. Water falls in a cascade down the south side of the hill into a small lagoon."

- Monkey Island Postcard
"The only Monkey Island in the world, 165x87 ft., a large oval mound with a continuing running rivulet, grottos, sand beach and cave for this protection of the monkeys in bad weather. Surrounded by a moat of water 30 feet wide.

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