Designated June 20, 2000
BAIRD (now ASTOR) COURT, NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK (Bronx Zoo), Bronx Park, south of East Fordham Road, The Bronx. Primates’ (Monkey) House, Lion House, Large Bird House (now Administration West), Elephant House (now Zoo Center), Administration Building (now Administration East), and the North and West Stairs.
Built 1899-1910; Heins & La Farge, architects; Harold A. Caparn; landscape architect.
Sculptural decoration by Eli Harvey, Charles R. Knight, and Alexander Phimister Proctor.
National Collection of Heads and Horns (now Security, Education and International Conservation Offices).
Built 1922;
Founded 1895, opened 1899
In 1884, Fordham University sold a large parcel of its campus to the City for use as a zoo and garden, known as Bronx Park. The property had historically been part of the Lorillard estate, whose snuff mill is still extant within the New York Botanical Garden. In 1888, the City allotted 250 of its acres to the New York Zoological Society, and in 1891, another 250 to the New York Botanical Society. The largest of the city’s five zoos, The Bronx Zoo is divided into northern and southern sections. The north is characterized by its formal layout, with Astor Court in the center, surrounded by Beaux Arts buildings, some of which are designated city landmarks. The landscape in the south is more naturalistic, with buildings ranging in style from Modern to Brutalist. This entry is the Asia Gate, which leads into a forest surrounding the Bronx River, with Asian wildlife displays.
