In terms of advice and counsel from previous directors such as Peter Crowcroft, my immediate predecessor, I really did not receive any substantial counsel from them. There was no true mentoring, shall we say. In part, because I was developing, especially the research potentials of zoos, generally, as I indicated,… Read More
So I’d already had a place in terms of forwarding those developments within the zoo business. And I wanted to obviously continue in that fashion and I didn’t really have any substantial input from the likes of Peter Crowcroft, although, with his substantial background, in terms of being an Elton… Read More
Had he already left or did you learn lessons from any of those other directors that you had worked for?… Read More
Did Peter Crowcroft give you any advice on you becoming the director?… Read More
Was he aware of it?… Read More
Of course I knew I had a burden in terms of the half developed Tropic World building. And yet there were other opportunities that were to come, that I could facilitate in terms of the improvement, development of the institution. And one of the things that we had gotten started… Read More
Well, let’s talk then about the moment you become director, when is that and why did you want that position?… Read More
Oh. (sighs) (George chuckles) In terms of why I became director and why did I want that position, it was in effect that I’d been serving in that position for the previous year under Crowcroft. Crowcroft was, shall we say, rarely available in the preceding year. And I had served… Read More
But that was Robert Bean’s principle contribution to the improvement or the development of exhibits at Brookfield. Read More
So just a footnote in terms of that background. So people like Robert Bean, I mean, he simply went along with whatever Tappan Gregory suggested, et cetera, and he had to have Tappan Gregory’s backing in terms of things like proceeding with the first inland dolphinarium that was built at… Read More
It’s certainly expensive. I’m trying to think. It may still be. It may still be. I was thinking of the Frankfurt facility and the Frankfurt thing is stitched together. It may well be still. Tell me more about the involvement of the board and directors. (George chuckling) I just recalled… Read More
And Tappan Gregory actually caused the building of the Wolf Woods, the large outdoor exhibit for the wolves where I did my studies on their social behavior and had students and others with me, but it was Tappan Gregory who, as I say, caused that to be built. And he’d… Read More
Is it true it’s the largest zoo building in the world?… Read More
So that was how we started on Tropic World. And unfortunately the challenges in terms of construction with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill involved and they were simultaneously involved in what became the serious building, the same team, and the chief architect on our side died in the middle of the… Read More
Boston went ahead with such a facility and it didn’t turn out so well, but they would not guarantee, in Chicago weather, the stability and the survivability of the plastic roof. So we gave that up and went to Skidmore, which, as I say, resulted in a pretty confined space… Read More
That started under Crowcroft and it was a result of our external parties, architects, indicating that we needed to improve facilities around the zoo and one of the primary ones was obviously the primate house with the great ape collection. And so one of the things that Crowcroft did do… Read More
Can you give me a bit of the evolution of Tropic World?… Read More
Did that start with what director?… Read More
In terms of the relationship of the board of the Chicago Zoological Society and the directors, I’d say there was modest involvement during Crowcroft’s time. I mean, they basically left it to him. They were not engaged except towards the latter part of his time when there was a significant… Read More
And I became involved in terms of teaching, instructing, coaching the docents. So that made a difference in terms of the board involvement. And we also established, in that time, a scientific research advisory committee that handle a little money in terms of awarding grants and things of that sort. Read More