Rock Creek Park and the Zoo

The wooded valley set aside in 1890, and the National Zoo laid out within it.

Boys at an iron fence watching an elephant beside a brick house — July 1924 Boys lean on the railings to watch an elephant in its paddock at the National Zoo, July 1924.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H27- A-8617 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

History

Congress created Rock Creek Park in 1890, setting aside the wooded valley of the creek north of the city, a year after it had created the National Zoological Park on the park’s southern edge; the Zoo became part of the Smithsonian in 1890. Peirce Mill, a nineteenth-century gristmill, stood within the park.

What's there now

Rock Creek Park covers more than 1,700 acres and is run by the National Park Service; the Zoo charges no admission.

Then and now

The valley is much as it was, though the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway (built 1923–1936) now runs through its lower end. The Zoo’s animal houses have nearly all been rebuilt.

Photographs 19, oldest first

A huge arched wire-mesh aviary enclosing trees, a woman walking beside it — c. 1900–06 The great flying birdcage at the National Zoo in Rock Creek Park, a vast arched wire aviary over growing trees, early 1900s.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-19158 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A long concrete arch bridge over a wooded valley — c. 1910–20 The Connecticut Avenue (Taft) bridge spanning the Rock Creek valley, 1910s.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 3284 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Concrete arch bridge seen through bare trees over a wooded valley — c. 1909–23 The Connecticut Avenue bridge over the Rock Creek valley.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 219 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A tall arched bridge spanning a wooded valley with a creek below — c. 1909–23 The great concrete arches of the Connecticut Avenue Bridge stride across the Rock Creek valley.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 298 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A hippopotamus walking in a yard — c. 1914–18 A hippopotamus at the National Zoo, 1910s.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 5374 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Three bison walking across a sandy enclosure with trees behind — 1916 Bison in their paddock at the National Zoo, 1916.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 6631 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A stone mill building beside a road with an early car, bare woods behind — 1917 Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, 1917, with a touring car passing on the road beside it.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 7019 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A stone arch bridge over a creek among trees — c. 1918–20 A stone bridge in the National Zoological Park.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 1867 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Crowds of children and adults spread over a grassy slope under trees — 1919 Children and families crowd a grassy hillside for the Easter egg rolling at the National Zoo, 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 2527 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of riders on horses before an old stone mill — c. 1909–32 Riders on horseback outside a stone building in Rock Creek Park.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12357-8 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Wild sheep standing on rocks among bare trees — 1921 Rocky Mountain sheep on the rocks of their enclosure at the National Zoo, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 11612 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A polar bear wading in a pool beneath a jet of water in a rocky enclosure — 1921 A polar bear stands in its pool under a spray of water at the National Zoo, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 15206 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Two boys in bathing caps sitting in rushing white water between rocks — July 28, 1921 Boys bathe in the rushing water of Rock Creek on a summer day, July 28, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 15189 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A row of young men skating arm in arm on a frozen creek under a leaning tree — January 26, 1922 Young skaters link arms on the frozen Rock Creek under an overhanging tree, January 26, 1922.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 18497 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A woman in white standing beside an open car with friends in it — 1924 Three young women with their touring car in Rock Creek Park, 1924.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H234- A-8701 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Two women in light costumes posing on rocks in a fast-flowing stream — July 1924 Two costumed dancers pose on boulders amid the rushing water of Rock Creek in July 1924.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H27- A-8641 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

People playing instruments in front of a barred animal enclosure — January 1925 A polar bear at the National Zoo is serenaded through the bars by a club orchestra and a dancer, early 1925.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H234- A-9411 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Onlookers in snow around a crushed car beneath a high bridge — February 12, 1926 The wreck of a car that fell 70 feet from the Calvert Street Bridge into the Rock Creek valley, February 12, 1926.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 39317 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Nearby: The Knickerbocker Theatre · The National Cathedral · U Street and Shaw · Dupont Circle and the avenues · Griffith Stadium