Swope Park’s fine new “Zoo and Animal House” of native fieldstone was opened and dedicated Dec. 13, 1909. The postcard, published in color by the Southwest News Co. of Kansas City, pictures visitors at the outside cages of the building. Large sliding doors allowed the zoo keepers to limit the outdoor hours and keep the lions and tigers in adjoining indoor cages, where they could also be viewed by the public. Feeding time was around 10 a.m. so many visitors hastened to catch early street cars to the park. Street cars (5 cents) ran frequently and it was only a short walk from the end of the line to the doors of the zoo. Swope Park was acquired in 1896 by the generous gift of Thomas H. Swope, who gave 1,350 acres of land to the city for a public park, with the restriction that there never be a charge for admission. The land then lay far beyond the southern city limits and some citizens felt the location so remote that the ordinary people, for whose use it was intended, would never be able to reach or enjoy it. The photographic postcard of “Cleo” the hippopotamus shows her small pool inside the zoo. Her expected offspring received weeks of publicity from the local newspaper, as names were suggested by an excited public. Kansas City Star, August 17, 1990.
Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.
