Africa U.S.A. Park
Africa USA Plaque.
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| Location | Boca Raton, Florida, USA |
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| Opened | 1953 |
| Closed | 1961 |
Africa USA was an African wildlife tourist attraction that was open from 1953 until 1961. The park was located in Boca Raton, Florida on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land near U.S. 1. Africa USA was truly a theme park before its time, with animals allowed to roam free. Even though Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World was hailed as a new concept, the idea had existed some 45 years prior in South Florida. Walt Disney was a frequent visitor to Africa USA and considered purchasing it. Africa USA was chosen over Disneyland to appear on the cover of the August 1, 1960 issue of Life magazine.
Africa USA was built by John P. Pedersen. Pedersen always dreamed of building a wild animal park in Florida, together with his wife Lillian and children Jack and Shirley.
In the 1950s, Pedersen made his dream reality. As Jack and mother Lillian were driving in Boca Raton, Florida they came across some grasslands dotted with pine trees and sabal palmetto that looked like an African savannah. Pedersen looked at the land and the tiny town of Boca Raton and commented "This is the deadest town I have ever seen. I am going to wake up this town." Pedersen purchased the 300 acres (1.2 km2) in 1950 from the City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County Commission.
Jack Pedersen flew to British East Africa to begin the process of animal collection. Working with Dr. Cecil Cade and his son Richard, Jack spent seven months in Africa collecting rare many species including ostrich, cranes, wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. Special permission was granted to capture the Grevy's zebra as they are almost extinct in the wild. Jack endured many illnesses while in Africa including malaria and tick fever. The animals were loaded onto the Farrell Lines freighter African Planet as a modern-day "Noah's Ark." The ship left the port of Mombassa and sailed nine weeks across the Atlantic to Port Everglades, Florida.
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Wikipedia