At the time that I was first involved with the zoo, I never thought too much about the fact that they were in barred cages, the Monkey House, the Lion Hose, it was just accepted, I guess, that was the way it was. And the buildings looked architecturally sound. I can reflect now and say that it was literally a jail for animals. The cages were constructed so that they’d be easy to clean, and so you had just cement floors and very little things that would retain dirt and artifacts. The bars were there, and the zoo is just a kind of a unique place. Of course, its location is what makes the zoo kind of unique and special, sits on the lake front of Chicago in a small park. Originally, I think the boundaries were about 29 acres and the city rapidly grew around the collection that started at Lincoln Park. History has it that some swans came from Central Park, New York to Lincoln Park back in 1864, maybe.
