PlacesPages: Oregon Zoo at Washington Park in Portland, OR

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Oregon Zoo at Washington Park in Portland, OR

…Continued from Washington Park & Zoo Railway Station.

Entrance to the Oregon Zoo on November 10, 2009

The Oregon Zoo traces its origins back to Portland pharmacist Dr. Richard E. Knight, who in the 1880s acquired, among other exotic animals, a male Brown Bear named Brownie and a female Grizzly Bear named Grace, which he kept in a vacant lot at the corner of Morrison and Third, next to his drug store. In 1887, Knight donated his collection of animals to the city, and the first zoo was established in Washington Park (then called simply City Park), near where the reservoirs are now. In 1925, the zoo moved to higher ground in Washington Park, to where the Japanese Garden is now.

Oregon Zoo Store on November 10, 2009

In 1951, the Portland City Club recommended building a new zoo and the city council placed a $3.85-million bond issue on the ballot for a new zoo on the 40-acre site of the West Hills Golf Course. The bond measure passed in 1954 and the current zoo opened in 1959 as the Portland Zoological Gardens.

Oregon Zoo Concert Lawn & Stage on November 10, 2009

The zoo was renamed the Washington Park Zoo in 1976, and was renamed to the current name, Oregon Zoo, in 1998.

Washington Park & Zoo Railway Station on November 10, 2009

The 30-inch gauge Portland Zoo Railway began operation June 9, 1958 with the first train, the Zooliner.

Washington Park & Zoo Railway Station on November 10, 2009

The Oregon steam locomotive was delivered June 19, 1959 and began operating the next day.

WP&Z Steam Locomotive #1 Oregon on December 8, 2009

The Zooliner and the Oregon were used at the Oregon Centennial Exposition in 1959, and a "Circus Train" was used at the zoo at that time. The "Circus Train" has since been rebuilt as the Oregon Express.

WP&Z Steam Locomotive #1 Oregon on December 8, 2009

In 1961 the railroad was issued its own postal cancellation stamp, which it still retains as the last operating U.S. railroad with its own cancellation to continuously offer mail service.

WP&Z Steam Locomotive #1 Oregon on December 8, 2009

The railroad was renamed the Washington Park & Zoo Railway in 1978.

WP&Z Steam Locomotive #1 Oregon on December 8, 2009

Steam locomotive #1, the Oregon, is shown here under steam decorated for ZooLights on December 8, 2009.

ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo on December 8, 2009

Here are a few more pictures of ZooLights, when the zoo is decorated with Christmas lights for the holiday season.

ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo on December 8, 2009

The first ZooLights was in 1988.

ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo on December 8, 2009

Below is a video of Zoolights taken on December 8, 2009.

ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo on December 8, 2009.

Wig-Wag Signal at the Oregon Zoo on November 10, 2009

This operational Magnetic Flagman, or "Wig-Wag" (for the movement made by the banner as it swings back and forth) Model 3 lower-quadrant crossing signal, made by the Magnetic Signal Company of Los Angeles, California between 1910 and 1949, protects a zoo service road.

Wig-Wag Signal at the Oregon Zoo on November 10, 2009

It was almost certainly originally located at a public railroad crossing somewhere else and moved to the zoo later.

Wig-Wag Signal at the Oregon Zoo on November 10, 2009

It is stenciled "CM 733.7," a milepost which would seem to place it on the Southern Pacific Railroad somewhere in Oregon, though I'm not sure where. I would guess Dallas or McMinnville.

Wig-Wag Signal at the Oregon Zoo on November 10, 2009

The banner has an odd paint scheme of a red cross, instead of a narrower black one, and no border.

Zoo Volunteer Anne with Apollo the American Kestrel Falcon

Sometimes zoo volunteers can be found around the grounds with animals from the Wild Life Live! program like Apollo the American Kestrel Falcon shown here.

Apollo the American Kestrel Falcon on November 10, 2009