Monkey Island, 1937

ID: 6036 | This file appears in: Mid Century Exhibits at the Cleveland Zoo
Monkey Island, 1937
Monkey Island, a popular feature in zoos throughout the United States, hinted of a trend in exhibit design that had emerged during the interwar years. Found in prominent European zoos and associated with designer Carl Hagenbeck, bar-less animal enclosures were constructed with mixed success in American zoological gardens during this era. The exhibits were meant to replicate the natural environment of animals. Although Monkey Island in Cleveland was primarily a show space, it provided a fabricated environment that imitated what observers might imagine a monkey's natural environment to look like. While a far cry from "Hagenbeck" standards, it was a step toward modern design.

| Source: Image courtesy of Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections
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Image courtesy of Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections
"Monkey Island, 1937" appears in: Mid Century Exhibits at the Cleveland Zoo