Staten Island Zoo

Staten Island Zoo

Staten Island Zoo Logo
Staten Island Zoo Entrance
Date opened	June 10th, 1936
Location	614 Broadway Ave.
Land area	8 Acres
No. of animals	1400
No. of species	320
Memberships	Association of Zoo's and Aquariums (AZA)
Major exhibits	Africa, Tropical Forest, Reptile Wing
Website	http://www.statenislandzoo.org

614 Broadway Ave.

The Staten Island Zoo is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) suburban zoo in West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York City. The zoo is open year-round except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1988.

The history of the Staten Island Zoo (Barrett Park) can be traced back to three long forgotten Staten Island War heroes; Colonel Edward Harden, Colonel Richard Penn Smith, and Major Clarence Barrett. In the 1800s, Staten Island was home to many ranking military leaders including Colonel Harden and Colonel Penn Smith whose estates were located right across from each other on opposite sides of Clove Road.

The Staten Island Zoo was built on the former estate grounds of Colonel Edward Harden. Colonel Harden fought in the Spanish–American War and moved to 614 Broadway on Staten Island in 1908 with his wife Julia Harden where they resided in what was later known as the "Harden Mansion". Mrs Harden willed the land to the city upon her death under three conditions: that it be named for her brother-in-law, Civil War Major Clarence Barrett, that the property not be used for a playground, and that her husband Colonel Harden be allowed to reside in the house that stood on the property. Mrs Harden died in 1930 and the property was transferred to the city of New York. The site was (and still is) officially called "Barret Park" in city planning records and it wasn't until the 1960s when the "Staten Island Zoo" became the popular name for the site. In the first few years, the only mention of "Zoo" in the Zoo signs were in the word "Zoological" for the "Staten Island Zoological Society" which operated Barret Park.

In August 1933, the Staten Island Zoological Society was created and the park built by the Civilian Conservation Corps[1]. On March 25, 1935, the Egbert-Robillard Bill was passed by the New York State Senate to have the city provide maintenance for the zoo. Two months later on May 7, 1935, the Governor of New York signed an agreement to allocate public funds for the zoo to cover operational and maintenance costs while the exhibits, animal care and educational programs were to be maintained by the Staten Island Zoological Society With the land now owned by the city and a Zoological Society in place to run and administer the site, zoo construction commenced in 1933 as part of the Federal Government’s works program to convert the 8-acre estate into a zoo. The zoo opened to the public on June 10, 1936, and was considered the first U.S. "educational zoo."