Love Philly? So do we. Let’s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today.
Did you know that the Philadelphia Zoo is actually the nation’s first?
“It’s so ubiquitous today,” said Dani Hogan, director of mission integration at the Philadelphia Zoo. “Everybody knows what a zoo is. Everybody has a zoo somewhere nearby… But back then, a zoo, which would have been called a zoological society or a zoological institution, was not a common thing.”
It all started over 175 years ago, when a Philadelphia physician and philanthropist named Dr. William Camac traveled to Europe and visited a novel attraction — the London Zoo.
“He’s so enamored by this zoo, where the animals are cared for and studied, but also where people can see them up close,” explained Spencer Salusky, a storyteller with Once Upon A Nation. “Well, if London can have a zoo, surely Philadelphia can as well.”
Camac gathered 35 other men and created a new group, the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. On March 1, 1859, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania signed a charter to give the green light to the project.
However, despite the go ahead and successful fundraising, a big roadblock got in the way of Camac’s vision — the Civil War. In 1862, Camac began his service as a surgeon and major under General Robert Patterson. This put the zoo project on a multi-year pause.
“Finally, on July 1st, 1874 — 15 years after the charter was signed — the Philadelphia Zoo opens its gates to 3,000 visitors,” Salusky said. “And these people, they arrive by foot, by horse, some by boat along the Schuylkill, some by train.
Back in 1874, the zoo sat on 33 acres of land instead of 42. Admission was just a quarter for adults and a dime for children. Instead of thousands of animals currently on site, there were a few hundred.
Still, while much more limited than today’s zoo, guests could see animals they’d likely never encountered before like bears, reptiles and various bird species. The mission to be a protector of animal life, was in the zoo’s core from the very beginning.
“When Philadelphia Zoo opened its gates to our very first guests back in 1874, they had what was then probably the biggest variety of wildlife that you could see in the United States,” Hogan said. “It was a very exciting time. Exotic birds were quite popular in this day and age. We had over 67 species of birds for people to see, and that was a big deal. People came from all over just to see that.”
This Saturday, the Philadelphia Zoo is throwing a “Firstival” party to celebrate its status as the first zoo in the United States. The celebration is part of the city’s ongoing effort to highlight Philadelphia firsts.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s free to enter,” Hogan said. “It’s kind of like a nice Saturday block party, but here at the Philadelphia Zoo.”
Attendees can ride the zoo’s Ferris wheel, participate in a “teddy bear clinic” and meet live animals. There will also be crafts and kid’s activities, as well as a bright number one Firstival sculpture painted by artist Gwenn Liberty Seemel.
“This is supposed to be a first full of firsts,” Seemel said of the artwork. “There’s the first cheetah born in any zoo in the world, and then you can also see the Galápagos tortoise Mommy, who became a mommy for the first time last year. And then on the next side, there is the otter because it was the first giant river otter to be born in captivity in North America. And then on the final side is the orangutan because that was the first orangutan to be born in the U.S.”
Seemel will be at the Firstival celebration. Kids can color in pages of her animal artwork.
“Zoos are really, really important,” Seemel said. “Especially right now when we’re all watching a lot of AI slop of wild animals doing things like jumping on outdoor trampolines. People are getting confused about what is actual animal behavior.”
“Zoos have always served as a way for us to connect with the wider world, with the planet, with the other creatures,” they added. “And now more than ever because of that AI slop, it’s so important.”
Check out BP’s full guide to all of this year’s Firstivals below.
Completed
Week 1: Successful balloon flight in America (1793)
Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation’s first folk parade (1901)
Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)
Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)
Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)
Week 7: Abolitionist society in America (1775)
Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America (1984)
Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America (1688)
Week 10: Flower Show (1829)
Week 11: Women’s medical college (1850)
Week 12: Matchbook (1892)
Week 13: Medical school (1765)
Week 14: Stadium (1895)
Week 15: Circus performance (1793)
Week 16: Botanical garden (1728)
Week 17: Postmaster (1737)
Week 18: American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
Week 19: Mother’s Day (1908)
Week 20: Hospital in America (1751)
Week 21: World’s Fair on American soil (1876)
Week 22: Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
Week 23: American flag (1777)
Week 24: U.S. Army (1775)
Week 25: Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
Week 26: Paper maker in America (1690)
Week 27: Bank of the United States (1791)
Week 28: Organized baseball team (1831)
Week 29: Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
Week 30: American art school (1805)
Week 31: Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Upcoming
• Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.
• U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)
• Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.
• Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.
• Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut St.
• Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall
• Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.
• Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.
• The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
• U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.
• Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.
• Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.
• Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.
• Children’s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
• Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
• Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.
• Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.
• Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.
• Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.
