The Lost Zoo

Seeking out the best location to film your zombie movie?  The abandoned L.A. Zoo is the perfect spot- an inconspicuous, overgrown, animal ghost infested ruins covered in graffiti. I can see it now...
PLANET OF THE APE ZOMBIES - THIS JULY, GO APE SHIT OR DIE.

Muahahaha…

My bad. I don’t know what’s up with all this creepy dead talk. Obviously, the animals were moved to the new L.A. Zoo, not left for dead. But their habitats really were. There’s definitely something a little eerie about climbing around damp and dark, rotting cages looking out from what would have been the animal’s point of view.

Unlike an ordinary zoo where all the animals are in one concentrated area, the old L.A. zoo was pretty spread out. There are cages, concrete enclosures and passageways scattered throughout existing hiking paths in Griffith Park (near the merry go round entrance.) When the zoo was built in 1913, the city hoped that the park’s natural setting would result in healthier zoo animals and appeal more to visitors. The wooded environment actually just reminds me that these wild animals shouldn’t be confined. Can you imagine how the animals felt? Living in a lush, forested mountain in a cage?! What a frickin’ tease. And unfortunately, most of the cages are pretty small. But let’s not think about that because being ghosts now they can slip in and out of any space whenever they please.

Though it’s not a functioning zoo anymore, the old infrastructure still sees a lot of action. The monkey habitat is now a picnic/party area decked out with barbeques and benches and sugar-high kids chasing each other with Nerf guns. Being so close to Hollywood, a lot of fashion ads and films shoot here as well. (The old L.A. zoo stood in for the San Diego Zoo where Lee Wong, the panda, gave birth in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.) Oh, and last but least - the graffiti taggers. 

The hiking trails in the area lead you to the top of the mountain with a great view of the Valley. Just beware of poison ivy, which we did see on our hike, as well as wild dogs and snakes, which I hear run wild in these here parts.  If you have kids or are a big one yourself, there’s a merry go round, huge picnic area, and park to run around at the bottom of the hill. Don’t forget money for the ice cream man.

Here’s the address to plug in your navi:

4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California

Miss Adventure’s Tips, Tricks and Chinese Proverbs:

1. The old L.A. zoo has no animals. The new L.A. zoo has lots of them. That’s the difference! The existing L.A. zoo moved two miles north of its predecessor in 1964 where it’s still open today. Knock ‘em both out in a day.
Though, may I suggest visiting the old one first… 

2. Before the old zoo’s opening in 1913, the fundraising budget fell short of the $10,000 goal amount so the zoo had to be built for only $2,000. All of the animals were stockaded inside a group of trees using welded wire. A few years later, cages and pits were built for some of the animals by unemployed men. 

3. During World War I, the City Council forbid the authorization of feeding beef to the animals. Horsemeat was used as a substitute, which actually resulted in many of the animal’s death.

4. Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.
(Remember that one on your hike.)

Monkeying around in an old monkey habitat