Manmade Tropical Environments and Exotic Architecture in Zoos

My current German TV movie project involves a female zoo keeper as the lead character, and for the first time in a while have I spent some time in Zoos again. We are shooting it in three different ones to become one in the movie.

Tiki restaurants not only have drawn on the museum concept of dioramas, as I explored in this post:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=27616&forum=17

but also on the complete exotic environs created in green houses in Zoos and parks all over Europe and the world. Beginning with Don The Beachcomber in Hollywood...

...places like the Kahiki in Columbus and the Kon Tiki in Tuscon, to name just a few, had viewing windows onto tropical flora that sometimes was inhabited by exotic fauna like birds and lizards. This was easier to do in the warm climates of Florida and California, but even more effective as an escapist concept in other parts of the country that had harsher weather.

While some animal enclosures utilize realistically painted backdrops like the restaurant dioramas did:

..other Zoo interiors try to let the animals and the visitors traverse the same space. This is less effective when the animals are still caged up:

...but recently Zoos have made the effort to let tame animals roam freely with no glass or division separating the visitors:

(note the lizard checking out the ant eater)

...so that not only can one enjoy the incredible exotic flora:

...and and the dense, jungle like environments:

...but also a variety of animals in their habitat, as if being on a jungle expedition. The ceilings of these greenhouses are so high that one forgets that one is inside:

The Cologne Zoo greenhouse is my favorite because it has some incredible vistas:

..which are enriched by exotic birds, bats, lizards, and all kinds of critters roaming around:

Of course, what really tops it off is when you ad a piece of primitive art to the mix, like this Papua New Guinea pole peaking out of the jungle:

This really was a nicely done carving, here are some details:

And here we have an example of a human family, not in their native habitat: :)

Zoo ARCHITECTURE also embellished the exotic, here is the old entrance of my home town Hamburg's "Hagenbeck's Animal Park":

Carl Hagenbeck was 19th Century animal importer, and was the first to also exhibit the "Native people in their environment" shows I mention in my books. Because of that the entrance is not only adorned with animal sculptures, but with the likenesses of an African and of an American Indian Warrior. These statues had a profound effect on me as a little boy entering through these gates. I will always remember them as among the coolest, most exotic pieces of art in my youth.

The Cologne Zoo has some nice examples of Moorish/Indian architecture:

The entrance of the old Elephant house from 1864:

...the building had gotten too small, so the NEW Elephant house became a spacious temple of modern architecture:

A zoo keepers feed hut:

And, in closing, a wonderful statue from the 1930s:

I hope you all enjoyed this little visual vacation into another exotic world, and please support your local Zoo. Next: Lemur Love!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-06-15 06:16 ]

You Tarzan, Angela Merkel, Jane?

WOW clap clap clap clap clap clap clap !! That was outstanding!!!!!! more more

Great stuff. Have you toured the San Diego zoo yet? If interested I know one of the animal care specialists. He sometimes does the "behind the scenes" thing. The atriums are pretty great also.
I dig the zoo mainly for the environments. I spend more time figuring out how the environment was created than watching the animals. It's a lot like Disneyland for me. Details, details, details.
Cheers.

Some zoos like Santa Barbara and San Francisco refer to themselves as zoological gardens, thereby emphasizing the fauna.

For the most outstanding tropical greenhouse display this side of the big pond...I would recommend a visit to Winterthur Gardens ...Located halfway between New York City and Washington, D.C., Winterthur is located just southwest of Philadelphia.

http://www.winterthur.org/

The array of tropical palms, fountains and pools found in the colossal greenhouses....fabulous... especially in winter.

Big Bro...love how you ended the show. Beautiful.

Swamp

[ Edited by: Swamp Tiki 2008-06-15 18:07 ]

I wish somebody could find some photos of the zoo and Tiki bar of The Palms in the Jungle

A fellow named Ralph Crane was the asst curator of the LA Zoo, he scourged the world for plants to make the zoo as authentic as possible. He was on the board of the Quail Gardens for a while also, IMHO the foremost bamboo garden in the world. (Bamboo is not tropical, but you know what I mean)
Bottom line, tour the LA zoo and don't look at the animals but the grounds, worth the price of admission.
BTW A shout out to Ralph and his son Jeff Crane, my long time best bud!

This zoo archway is also amazing. It was done in 2005 by a Master metalsmith and artist by the name of Albert Paley. It is huge and made of forged steel (see the little guy in the pic.), it's weight must be immense...This shot looks like it was taken prior to installation http://www.albertpaley.com/default.asp

The San Diego zoo has a Fern Grotto which seems like one is walking in Hilo.

Photos aren't mine, but there are apparently tikis at the Columbus Zoo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fellrath/4821768428/

And so many! The first one that came up, I thought rightaway "That must be from the Kahiki" because they had one that style, and the paint job is of the late Kahiki period....but then there are so many! Any Columbus Tiki agents that can look into this?

When visiting Chicago lately, I found that my hotel was right across from the Lincoln Park Zoo...

...the first complete Zoo I ever encountered where you could just walk in for free! Right by the entrance is this wonderful old green house:

Expertly laid out, a jungle in a metropolis

It was here that I discovered proof of the influence of primitive art on botanics:

If you look hard, you can see the abstract lines of an African mask in that leaf. :)

On 2008-06-27 22:14, christiki295 wrote:
The San Diego zoo has a Fern Grotto which seems like one is walking in Hilo.

It's one of the best features of the SD Zoo!

used to go to the Lincoln Park a LOT when i was a wee lad living in Illinois!
Great thread,Sven!
That Hamburg zoo and Cologne Zoo Greenhouse,as well as all the others
speak of places of refuge and learning and enjoyment
Not the common hype and flash and corporate tie-ins
that invade a lot of our our public spaces...
Glad to know that thoughtful aesthetic is still with us!
Beautiful!