This Sunday, April 26, marks a momentous date in our history: the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Wildlife Conservation Society, then known as the New York Zoological Society. Continue reading →

This post was written by Kimio Honda,  Studio Manager in WCS’s Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department. This is the third part of a three-part series on the Bronx Zoo’s Rainey Gates; for part 1, on Paul J. Rainey, see here, and for part 2, on the development of the Gates, see here.

While working on the Rainey Gates, Paul Manship was able to sculpt from the animals at the Bronx Zoo, as they were brought into a special studio—likely the artists’ studio that sat at the northeastern corner of the Lion House. (See our previous post on the studio.)  The animals featured in the gates were chosen from the actual zoo collection. Some of them were well-known characters.  Continue reading →

This post was written by Kimio Honda,  Studio Manager in WCS’s Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department. This is the second part of a three-part series on the Bronx Zoo’s Rainey Gates; for part 1, on Paul J. Rainey, see here.

Paul Manship, creator of the Rainey Gates, is a well-known American sculptor. Even if you haven’t heard his name, you may know one of his most prominent works: the bright gold Prometheus at the Rockefeller Center. His works are at the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Manship served as chairman of the board at what is known today as the the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which also holds dozens of Manship works.  Continue reading →

This post was written by Kimio Honda,  Studio Manager in WCS’s Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department.

My interest in the Bronx Zoo and the New York Zoological Society goes back to my teenage years in Japan. When I was transferred to New York for my work, I got to know some people at the zoo. Many years later I started working at the Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department (known around here as EGAD). As a result, I have had a chance to know more intimately the works of art around our parks and to hear some interesting stories.  Continue reading →

During the Great Depression, New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses embarked upon a wide-ranging overhaul of the NYC parks system that included the reconstruction of the Central Park Zoo  and the construction of the Prospect Park Zoo.   (Links lead to New York City Parks Department history pages.)  Robert Moses first hired Captain Ronald Cheyne-Stout as an animal consultant for the two zoos, and later took him on as the zoos’ Menagerie Director.  Continue reading →

With the New York Aquarium preparing for a major transformation of its facilities at Coney Island—centering around a new 50,000 square foot Ocean Wonders: Sharks! exhibit—I took special note while flipping through a 1915 issue of the New York Zoological Society Bulletin recently of an article entitled “The Aquarium of Our Dreams.”

Continue reading →

Today, if you want information on an animal, you might turn to the internet, and look it up on Google or Wikipedia. If you want information on the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Bronx Zoo, or one of the other wildlife parks, you might go to their website, read their FAQs, or go to the “contact us” page for email information. In 1965, however, such information was not a just a click away. If you had a school project, or needed animal information for another reason, you might write to the zoo. And if you were Assistant Curator of Birds and Mammals Grace Davall, part of your job would be responding to these inquiries.  Continue reading →

Betty and Veronica, the two grizzly bears who have recently moved from the Bronx Zoo to take up residence at the Central Park Zoo, have been local media stars lately, appearing in the New York Times, the Post, and on several news stations.

But these two are no strangers to fame: in fact, in 2004, they were the cover stars of Archie Comic No. 550.  Continue reading →

 Since September I have worked with the WCS Library and Archives in their ongoing effort to digitize historical photographic holdings. My focus has been on a collection documenting one of the expeditions made by the Society’s Department of Tropical Research. William Beebe led this 1925 expedition from New York to the Galapagos on a ship named Arcturus.   Continue reading →

 Processing the records of the New York Zoological Society’s (now the Wildlife Conservation Society) Center for Field Biology and Conservation (CFBC) was like a crash course in the Society’s field research and wildlife conservation efforts of the 1970s. In this post, I’ll give you a glimpse of both the CFBC’s history, as seen through its records, and the processing process itself. (Archival terms are linked to the Society of American Archivists glossary.)  Continue reading →