THE ELEPHANT HOUSE, No. 20. 



Of its buildins's for animals, the Elephant House is the 

 culminating feature of the Zoological Park, and it comes 

 quite near to being the last of the series. In token of these 

 facts, it is fittingly crowned with a dome. Through its posi- 

 tion in the general plan it closes a wide gap, and effectively 

 links together the northern and southern halves of the 

 establishment. 



The erection of this great structure began in 1907, and the 

 building was completed and its inmates housed in the fall 

 of 1908. The j^ards surrounding the structure were finished 

 in 1909. 



Any building which can comfortably accommodate a rep- 

 resentative collection of the largest of all living land ani- 

 mals, must unquestionably be large and substantial. There 

 is no pleasure in seeing a ponderous elephant chained to 

 the floor of a small room, unable even to walk to and fro, 

 and never permitted to roam at will in the open air and sun- 

 light. It is no wonder that dungeon-kept elephants go mad, 

 and do mischief. If an elephant — or for that matter any 

 animal— cannot be kept in comfortable captivity, then let it 

 not be kept at all. 



The Elephant House of the City of New York is a large 

 and roomy structure, built to render good service for two 

 centuries. Its extreme length over all is 170 feet, and its 

 width is 84 feet. Its two sides are divided into 8 huge 

 compartments, of which 4 are for elephants, 2 for rhinoc- 

 eroses and 2 for hippopotami. Each of these is 24x21V2 

 feet. 



The Hippopotami have within the building a tank 24x21 

 feet, and 8 feet in total depth; and another will be con- 

 structed in their corral. 



Each end of the building furnishes two cages of smaller 

 dimensions, for tapirs, and 3'oung elephants. The whole 

 area surrounding the building, excepting the axial walk, is 

 devoted to open-air yards, so arranged that each cage in the 

 interior connects directly with a corral which affords both 

 sunshine and shade. Nature seems to have made this beau- 

 tiful open grove— strangely free from trees in its center — 

 especially for the purposes to which it now is devoted. 



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