Como Park Zoo and Conservatory

Last updated
Como Park Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory-2006.jpg
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
Type Urban park
Location Saint Paul, Minnesota
Coordinates 44°58′53″N93°09′03″W / 44.981397°N 93.150807°W / 44.981397; -93.150807
Area759 acres (307 ha)
Created1873
Visitors1.9 million [1]
StatusOpen all year
Public transit access Bus-logo.svg Metro Transit
Website https://comozooconservatory.org

The Como Park Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory (or just Como Zoo and Conservatory) are located in Como Park at 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The park, zoo and conservatory are owned by the City of Saint Paul and are a division of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. Its attractions include the zoo, the conservatory, an amusement park, a carousel, Lake Como, a golf course, a pool and more. The park receives more than 1.9 million visitors annually. [2] Como Park is a free park and while no admission fee is charged for the zoo or conservatory, voluntary donations of $4 per adult and $2 child are suggested. [3]

Contents

Como Park

Como Park, c. 1900 (The Gates Ajar) Gates Ajar, Como Park, St. Paul, Minn (NYPL b12647398-68047).tiff
Como Park, c. 1900
(The Gates Ajar)
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
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Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
200m
220yds
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Labyrinth
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Carousel
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Historic
Bridges
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Red pog.svg
Pavilion
C O M O
P A R K
Red pog.svg
Zoo and
Conservatory
C O M O
L A K E
Invisible Square.svg
Como Lake and Park, St. Paul, Minnesota,

In 1873 the City of Saint Paul acquired 300 acres (120 ha) of land around Como Lake that would become a public park. Today the 384-acre (155 ha) park includes:

Art and historic structures

  • Bridge No. L-5853 [4] - Pedestrian bridge over former street car tracks, built in 1904 and engineered by William S. Hewett. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is significant for being one of the oldest examples of a reinforced concrete bridge.
  • Bridge No. 92247 [5] - Lexington Avenue Bridge - Also built in 1904 and engineered by William S. Hewett, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is significant for being one of the oldest examples of a reinforced concrete bridge and because it is wider than it is long.
  • Cafesjian's Carousel - PTC #33 was built in 1914 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and was restored and saved from auction in 1988.
  • Comfort Station - Prairie style restrooms located in the West Picnic Grounds that were completed in 1917 and restored in 1998.
  • Constructing Friendship [6] - A sculpture by Michael Sinesio created in 2006 as a part of the Minnesota Rocks! [7] International Stone Carving Symposium. It is located at the west entrance to the park.
  • Frog Pond - Completed in 1910, the overlook has a pergola that was donated in 1929. The granite frog, from which the pond gets its name, is from 1923.
  • Gates Ajar - Originally installed in 1894. The iron gates were installed on the structure sometime later during the depression by Chief City Blacksmith, Walter Cronk. Being refurbished in 2007.
  • Global Harmony Labyrinth - Dedicated in 2005, it celebrates the Sister City relationship between Saint Paul and Nagasaki, Japan. (read about the construction of the labyrinth) [8]
  • Granite Frog [9] - Located in the middle of Frog Pond directly south of the conservatory, last remaining component of the original Japanese garden.
  • Hamms Memorial Waterfall
  • Henrik Ibsen [10] - Bust of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, created by Norwegian-born artist Jacob Fjelde and given to the city in 1907 by a Norwegian fraternal organization. The bust was stolen in 1982 and replaced in the late 1990s. ("Oh, Henrik!") [11]
  • Historic Street Car Station - A station for the Twin City Rapid Transit Company and the Como-Harriet line.
  • Joyce Kilmer Memorial Fireplace - The large stone fireplace was erected in 1936 in memory of poet Joyce Kilmer. For years, the fireplace was in a state of disrepair, but in 2011 it was refurbished and rededicated.
  • Lakeside Pavilion - The current building was constructed in 1992 as an exact replica of the original 1905 building.
  • Lily Pond - Originally built in 1895 and known as the Aquarium, the pond featured exotic lily pads. While the lily pads returned to Como Park at the conservatory in 2005, the original pond has been dry and unused for some time.
  • Mannheimer Memorial - Designed in 1905-1906 by Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Minnesota State Capitol building.
  • Paisley Perch [12] - Another Minnesota Rocks! sculpture created in 2006, this bench-shaped creation is by Peter Morales. It is located at the southern corner of the park off Lexington Avenue, next to the ball fields.
  • Points of Compass - A life-size sundial designed and constructed by Superintendent of Parks George Nason in the 1930s.
  • Schiller Statue [13] - Bronze figure of Johann von Schiller with a granite base by artist Ignatium Taschner, dedicated in 1907.
  • Schiffman Fountain
  • Submariner's Memorial - Dedicated in 1965 as a memorial to the lost crew of the USS Swordfish.

Saint Paul Winter Carnival

In 1939 Lake Como hosted the Winter Carnival Ice Palace and the Winter Carnival Medallion has been hidden in Como Park eight times (1956, 1965, 1980, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2014).

Como Zoo

1936 Zoological Building 1936ComoZoo.JPG
1936 Zoological Building
Polar Bears, Buzz and Neil in 2020, part of the Polar Bear Odyssey exhibit Polar bears at Como Zoo in St Paul, Minnesota copy.jpg
Polar Bears, Buzz and Neil in 2020, part of the Polar Bear Odyssey exhibit

The first zoo in Saint Paul was started when in 1897, the city of St. Paul received a gift of three deer. Additional animals followed, when more room was needed to house the animals they were moved to facilities at Como Park. Como Zoo continued to grow through donations of animals and money.

The Art Deco Zoological Building was designed in 1936 by Charles Bassford [14] as part of the federally funded Works Progress Administration. Other WPA structures were completed in the 1930s, including Monkey Island, barn and bear grotto.

In the 1980s several new exhibits were added as part of a major renovation project, including the Large Cat exhibit (1980), Aquatic Animal Building and conversion of Monkey Island to Seal Island (1982), the Primate Facility (1985), the Land and Water Bird exhibit (1986) and the African Hoofed Stock Facility (1987).

Art at Como Zoo

A new Polar bear exhibit was finished in 2010. The two twin Polar bear brothers (Buzz and Neil) returned from their temporary stay in Canada. The exhibit includes a shallow and deep pool plus a middle room. It also has a back room where the Polar bears can choose to stay in the AC. A new seal and sea lion exhibit with two pools was completed in 2021.

Casey the Gorilla

On May 13, 1994, Casey a 400-pound gorilla, scaled the wall of his enclosure and wandered free around the zoo for 45 minutes. Visitors were ushered to safety as zoo staff shot Casey with a tranquilizer and returned him to his enclosure. This resulted in the zoo building a temporary slanted wall around the enclosure to keep this from happening again. The zoo opened a new exhibit in 2013 called Gorilla Forest. Casey was moved to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. [24]

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

Como Park Conservatory
Como Conservatory Sunken Garden.JPG
The sunken garden in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
LocationComo Park
St. Paul, Minnesota
Built1913
ArchitectFrederick Nussbaumer
NRHP reference No. 74001033
Added to NRHPNovember 19, 1974

The 0.5-acre (2,000 m2) Marjorie McNeely Conservatory was first opened to the public in November 1915. This facility is open to the public every day of the year. It includes the following gardens and galleries:

The conservatory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.


Art at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Berdan, Kathy. "Sparky the Sea Lion's new $21 million home at Como Zoo opens this week". TwinCities.com. Pioneer Press.
  2. ↑ Taken from Como Insider, July–September 2009, page 9.
  3. ↑ "FAQ - Como Park Zoo and Conservatory".
  4. ↑ "Minnesota's Historic Bridges - Bridge No. L-5853". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  5. ↑ "Minnesota's Historic Bridges - Bridge No. 92247". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  6. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Constructing Friendship by Michael Sinesio". www.startseeingart.com.
  7. ↑ "投資にはソフトを活用すると便利｜株で失敗しない方法". www.minnesotarocks.org. Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  8. ↑ "Global Harmony Labyrinth". www.labyrinth-enterprises.com.
  9. ↑ "startseeingart.com is for sale".
  10. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Henrik Ibsen by Jacob Fjelde". www.startseeingart.com.
  11. ↑ (City Pages, October 21, 1998)
  12. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Paisley Perch by Peter Morales". www.startseeingart.com.
  13. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Johann von Schiller by Ignatium Taschner". www.startseeingart.com.
  14. ↑ "Profile of Saint Paul's historic Como neighborhood". 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007.
  15. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Don the Gorilla by Betty Sievert". www.startseeingart.com.
  16. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Giraffes by Third Street Studios". www.startseeingart.com.
  17. ↑ "Fine Custom Kitchens, Baths, Furniture and Cabinetry". www.thirdstreetstudios.com.
  18. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Polar Bears by Third Street Studios". www.startseeingart.com.
  19. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Sparky the Sea Lion by Third Street Studios". www.startseeingart.com.
  20. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Toby the Tortoise by Tom Tischler". www.startseeingart.com.
  21. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Penguins by Third Street Studios". www.startseeingart.com.
  22. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Earth Day Mural by Teresa Cox". www.startseeingart.com.
  23. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Family by Russell Erickson". www.startseeingart.com.
  24. ↑ AP (1994-05-14). "A 400-Lb. Gorilla Goes Where He Wants". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  25. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Crest of the Wave by Harriet Frishmuth". www.startseeingart.com.
  26. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - Play Days by Harriet Frishmuth". www.startseeingart.com.
  27. ↑ "Start Seeing Art - St. Francis of Assisi by Donald Shephard". www.startseeingart.com.
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