Philly is a city of many firsts. It's home to the country’s first hospital, first botanical garden, and first university. The Philadelphia Zoo, located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States.
Due to the efforts of Philadelphia doctor William Camac, who took inspiration from the London Zoo, the Pennsylvania State Legislature established a nonprofit Zoological Society in 1859. The society was ready to get started on the zoo, but the Civil War derailed their plans.
The Philadelphia Zoo eventually opened its doors on July 1, 1874 with an admission price of 25 cents. Imagine that! During its first year, 228,000 people visited the zoo, which was about half of Philly’s population at the time.
When it opened, the Philadelphia Zoo had just 813 animals. Today, it has more than 1,700 critters-in-residence, many of which are rare and endangered. Each year, about 1.2 million people visit America’s first zoo.
