Binghamton Zoo!

1. Binghamton Zoo! By: Caroline, Nick, Nate, Tiana

2. Project & Project Goals • Budget: $1,000,000 for renovations and the construction of a museum-like exhibit. • Personnel: Local historians, architects, construction workers and members of the Southern Tier Zoological Society would be involved. • THE PLAN: Create an exhibit which highlights the transitional points in the park’s history. Focusing on the people who helped establish the park and to build on restoring the park to its former glory. • Anticipated Results: People become involved with the preservation and restoration of the zoo. To instill a sense of connection and identity to the area and the park itself. To also give people a sense of pride through a historical perspective of the park.

3. History of the Zoo • The zoo was originally a fair ground of sorts, the land donated in 1875 from Erastus Ross on the South Side of Binghamton. In those days, it was not really a zoo with animals like it is today. • It wasn’t until 1919 , that the zoo got its first animal, a bear, which started the transition of the park into a zoo.

4. History of the zoo • However, the zoo soon went into disrepair when the use of automobiles increased because cars allowed for people to travel outside of Binghamton for recreation. • The two World Wars and then the Great Depression put more of a strain on the zoo.

5. History of the zoo • In 1966 the community became concerned about the zoo and formed the Southern Tier Zoological Society and six years later the zoo maintenance drastically improved. • Then in 1987 to 2009 the zoo has been accredited and reaccredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

6. ReZOOvenation • The zoo is celebrating its 138th season this year and with our project, we hope to support the zoo and increase revenue and public flow into the zoo. • The zoo is going through some renovations, repairing the buildings and cages after the many years of decay and also the recent floods that have affected the area. • With these repairs, the zoo is also bringing more animals in, such as the Snowy Owls and the Amur Leopard. • Our proposal would be built off of this project, but we would branch off to try to bring revenue into the park as well as awareness about the park’s restoration.

7. ReZOOvenation • The process we are building on says something about the viability of this project. There is hope, there is an effort being put forth by the community to save the zoo and make into something better. • With this project, we hope people will become more aware and will want to be involved in reviving the zoo. • The fact that the community is not simply letting the zoo fall into the past says a lot about this area, it’s people, and the cultural identity of this town.

8. Renovating the Zoo • Our plan is to renovate the zoo, to expand the zoo to have more animals in it, and to restore the zoo to it’s former glory. • We want to improve the zoo’s stature, and make it a place that more people would want to travel to and see.

9. Renovating the Zoo Cont. • We would like to expand the size of the exhibits for the animals, bring back animals that they used to have, such as lions, and new ones as well. • We would also like to improve on the “Rezoovenation” project currently going on, repairing more of the buildings, as well as to bring in a Victorian influence like it would have had when it was at it’s height of popularity.

10. A New Exhibit • We would like to create an exhibit that outlines the history of Ross Park. • Our exhibit would include a trolley car ride, much like those that provided transportation to the zoo in the late 19th century. The trolley ride would present history in a time-line format, beginning with a biographical piece on Erastus Ross, and continue with important events, such as the 1894 installation of a casino and the gradual transition into the park we know today.

11. Understanding the Past • Our goal in renovating the zoo is to give the Southern Tier community a sense of pride and identity. • Awareness of the area’s history can help us understand our ancestors, their behavior patterns, and how our community came to be. • An exhibit of the past can restore hope in the area’s future.