Elmwood Park Zoo

Elmwood Park Zoo was founded in 1924, when a private landowner donated a small piece of property and a handful of white-tailed deer to the Borough of Norristown. Run by the Borough as a division of Elmwood Park, the Zoo exhibited a collection of animals throughout the 1920s, including monkeys, bears, peacocks, deer, raccoons, and rabbits. Popular for its exhibits, the Zoo was also a destination because of the natural spring that provided clean water to borough residents.

The Zoo expanded and changed over the decades. Advances in animal care changed exhibits from bare wire-cages (which was the standard in the 1920s) into more naturalistic exhibits that would give comfort to the animals. The Zoo developed a focus on North- and South-American animals, and though ownership and operation continued to come from the Borough, the Zoo was supported by the Norristown Zoological Society, a group of community-minded citizens who oversaw programs, and donated their time and money to support the Zoo.

In 1985, the Norristown Zoological Society became an official non-profit organization, and assumed control of Elmwood Park Zoo from the Borough of Norristown. Two years later, the first long-term mater plan for the physical development and expansion of the Zoo developed by the NZS was approved by the Norristown Borough Council. Completed in 2002, this plan saw the Zoo expand in size from eight to sixteen acres, and add new animal exhibits including the Andrew L. Lewis Wetlands Aviary in 1995. In 1996, the "Sensorium" indoor facility was renovated into The Bayou, an exhibit featuring American reptiles andhibians like alligators, turtles, frogs, lizards, and snakes. In 1997, a brand new multi-million dollar entrance pavilion and parking complex were opened to the public, and in August of that year Phase I of the Grassland Exhibit, featuring American Bison and Roosevelt Elk, made its debut.