Today, it is difficult to imagine a zoo in downtown Portland. It is even harder to imagine a zoo in the back of a pharmacy. But in the 1880's, Portlanders wanting to view exotic animals did so at a drugstore owned by a man named Richard Knight.
Knight, a British born mariner who set up shop at 3rd and Morrison in downtown Portland, collected animals from his seafaring friends. Actually, some reports claim he was taking the animals, which included bears, birds and monkeys, as favors to his friends. Whatever the true story was, he ended up with a menagerie that grew too larger for his space. Eventually, he ended up donating some of the animals to the city for a zoo.
Charles Meyers, the keeper of City Park, which would later be named Washington Park, served as Portland's first zoo keeper. The location of the city's first zoo was near the reservoirs in Washington Park. In 1925, the zoo moved to a higher location, near the present day Japanese Gardens.
By 1905, interest in the zoo declined and it became known for its poor conditions. But in 1952, the fate of the zoo forever changed with the donation of Rosy, the zoo's first Asian elephant. In 1954, citizens passed a ballot measure to build a new, modern facility. In 1959, the zoo moved to its present location high atop Washington Park. Elephants have remained an integral part of the zoo and a favorite of the public.
When Packy was born in 1962, the zoo's attendance exceeded one million for the first time in its history. As the first elephant born in the United States in 44 years, Packy gave Portland international attention as an elephant town. Since that time, 27 Asian elephants have been born here. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the zoo attracted a record 1.6 million visitors. Many of them came to see baby Samudra, the latest addition to the zoo's elephant family.
For more information about the history of the zoo, visit www.washingtonparkpdx.org and www.oregonzoo.com.
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