So the aim in terms of opening for the major world exhibition in ’33, ’34, was only the end of ’34 that, the end of that time that Brookfield opened. But in terms of what I’ve witnessed and encountered in general, there’s been substantial support for the institution such that… Read More
And did politicians play a role?… Read More
(George chuckles) You bring up an interesting aspect of the institutional setting of Brookfield It is, in effect, a governmental institution, in that it is part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County where the Forest Preserve District of Cook County is really an extraordinary development in terms of… Read More
What was the relationship, how did politics of the county affect, or not affect the operation of the zoo?… Read More
You talked about resources. Brookfield sits on county land. Read More
So that was an adventure sometime. And I might mention in that respect much earlier, I’d been involved with a fire at the original Seven Seas Panorama. It was considered that the building was fireproof, but a little fan, a little electric fan ignited the surrounding packing material on the… Read More
But in terms of major improvements for many of the ungulates, time and money simply were not there. That was a frustration, because we did have a plan. And other things that didn’t come to be. We planned what might’ve been the first substantial lead building in the Chicago region… Read More
Oh, there were some frustrating times. There were also some (chuckles) adventurous times. In that last year of Crowcroft’s directorship, he was away when our polar bears swam out of their outdoor exhibits. And that was certainly an adventurous day in which I commandeered a rifle, among other things. And… Read More
Well, among other things that affected my administration of affairs at Brookfield, one of the obvious ones was the Endangered Species Act, which prior to the 1970s, that didn’t exist. I mean, those restrictions were very sporadic, as I say, in terms of the okapi, Ringling Brothers was prohibited from… Read More
Were there frustrating times at the zoo for you?… Read More
Well, when you speak about your tenure at the zoo, what major events affected zoos in general and specifically Brookfield Zoo during your tenure?… Read More
In terms of making changes to visitor services, it was evident that there needed to be great improvements and the zoo had one major food service facility in a prime position at the end of the East Mall. It was called the Refectory. And the Refectory had some wonderful painted… Read More
So it was pretty primitive and was until Crowcroft’s day and his facilitation of the improvement of such facilities that any change took place on that front. Partly, that was, again, facilitated by volunteers and Edie Duckworth, trustee, helped in that respect with a gift shop, so it was basically… Read More
And then what did you think about making changes when you now had the opportunity?… Read More
Can you describe the visitor services when you first arrived at the zoo?… Read More
Well, further development in the naturalistic vein, including those outdoor exhibits as well as the interior, but I felt the interior exhibits could substantially be improved. And sort of a first illustration of that was in terms of the swamp exhibit, which was essentially reusing the existing structure of the… Read More
So those are all reflected in the swamp. And that was a first major illustration of my own commitment to the naturalistic environments that I felt the animals deserved. You talked about different things, the exhibits, et cetera. Read More
Now what evolution did you want exhibits to take at Brookfield Zoo when you took over?… Read More
Well, one of the things that, while I was very close to the children’s zoo curator for many years, Gail Snyder, and we’d considered several developments, improvements, extensions of the children zoo during her time. I was never satisfied. And Brookfield had one of, I think it was the third… Read More
I saw the animals being regarded as play things, as tools for our own interest, but I didn’t see the real facilitation of bonding with other living beings. And so much later in my time, I saw to the development of the Hamill Family Play Zoo in which I think… Read More