Lincoln Park Zoo history

In 1874, a bear cub from the Philadelphia Zoo was the first animal purchased by the zoo, for $10 USD. The bear became quite adept at escaping from its home and could frequently be found roaming Lincoln Park at night.

In 1884, reportedly the first American bison born in captivity was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The zoo's first director, Cyrus DeVry, was hired in 1888.

At this time, the species had almost been hunted to extinction in the wild—in 1896, the United States government purchased one bull and seven cows from the Zoo's bison herd to send to Yellowstone National Park to assist in the species' revival.

Visitors to Lincoln Park Zoo crowd around the elephant pavilion in 1906, 38 years after the zoo was founded informally with two pairs of swans donated by New York's Central Park. (Acme Newspictures)

A new Lion House opened in 1912.

Fisher had a veterinary practice in Berwyn and was the zoo’s first full-time veterinarian before he became director, in 1962.

The Farm-in-the-Zoo (first opened in 1964) showcases animals and activities of a Midwestern farm.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)—which certified Lincoln Park Zoo as one of the nation’s first accredited zoos in 1975—initiates the Species Survival Plan® (SSP) program.

The Kroc Animal Hospital and Commissary (1976) and the Great Ape House (1976) fulfilled long-standing needs.

From 1920 until a Zoo expansion in 1994, the 1893 World's Fair Viking ship was located at the zoo. It was later renovated and reopened in 1990.

Following Fisher's retirement in 1992, political and financial issues surfaced that led to a re-evaluation of direction and management.

In 1995, the Zoological Society assumed management of the zoo from the Chicago Park District, which remains the owner.

In 2010, Lincoln Park Zoo transformed the adjacent South Pond to create the Nature Boardwalk, an ecological habitat designed by Studio Gang Architects that features native wetlands plants and wildlife.

But the work of architects and bulldozers has been especially pronounced in the last handful of years, thanks to a $135 million fundraising campaign begun in 2012.

This exhibit would also be fully outdoors and equipped for over a dozen penguins with a behind-the-scenes breeding area. It was announced in March 2014 that the zoo's Robert R. McCormick Bear Habitat, or "Bear Line", would be torn down and rebuilt with a large and significantly improved habitat for the zoo's lone polar bear, with much more land area for the bears and a behind-the-scenes den for breeding.

In 2017, it created the Urban Wildlife Information network, a national organization to monitor urban biodiversity in different regions and contribute to city planning for green spaces.

July 18, 2018, by Lincoln Park Zoo in 150th Anniversary, blog post.