WCS Archives

Black and white photo of architectural drawing of the Great Apes House, late 1940s.

Black and white photo of construction of the Great Apes House in the late 1940s.

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View of the exhibit at the Great Apes House from a color postcard.

Text of a Great Apes House postcard caption titled "Plenty of room for the gorilla."

Black and white photo of Fairfield Osborn at Great Apes House ribbon-cutting event on opening day in October, 1950.

Black and white photo of entrance side to Great Apes House.

That story will get fresh attention in 2026, when the Noguchi Museum opens Noguchi’s New York, an exhibition that explores—among many other stories—Noguchi’s connection to the Great Apes House. We look forward to seeing it!
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#archives

Although that exhibit is long gone, its story is still unfolding in surprising ways. Here’s a fun fact we recently learned: during its planning, WCS President Fairfield Osborn discussed the project with famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988).
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The Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo is an immersive, participatory exhibit that is home today to the zoo’s gorillas and other animals. Congo represents an evolutionary step in zoo design that follows on an exhibit that opened 75 years ago this month, The Great Apes House.
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#archives

Shown are a 1906 postcard image of the aviary and its surroundings and a 1924 photo of a male argus pheasant taking in the view.
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Black and white photo of Male argus pheasant in enclosure with a uniformed keeper in the background. Taken in May 1924.

The building and enclosures went through a renovation in 1968. A new restoration effort took place earlier this year, and included better accessibility for keepers and artificial flowing streams for birds.
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#archives

Colorized postcard image of the Pheasant Aviary set back within the landscape of the Bronx Zoo.

We couldn't let this month end without a winged salute to 120 years of the Pheasant Aviary at the Bronx Zoo. The unique wood-framed, Tudor style building opened in September 1905, relieving some of the overcrowding at the Aquatic Bird House and Ostrich House.
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#archives

Baboons Grooming by Deborah Ross

Bat (1 of 2) by Katie Lee

Bat (2 of 2) by Katie Lee

...a treasure trove of design drafts and graphics for the Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and the New York Aquarium.
It’ll take some time before this collection is fully processed and digitized, but we couldn’t wait to show off some of these stunning images with you.
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Green Tree Python by S. Masques

Tamarins by David Kiehm

#dyk? Alongside preserving and sharing historical @wcs.org records, the WCS #Archives also collects today’s materials to save for future generations. We’re especially excited about a recent addition from WCS’s Exhibits and Graphic Arts Department:
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(If you ❤️ gazelles, sit tight. #WorldGazelleDay is July 9!)
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This Sunday, Aug. 10 is #WorldLionDay. The WCS #Archives holds bracing footage of a 1973 film titled "Predators of the Serengeti." It features George Schaller's Serengeti-based research on predator-prey relationships. The clips show lions hunting gazelles.
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Company profile of F.W. Eversley on letterhead.

Further details of F.W. Eversley firm from profile.

A highlight is the short biography of the construction firm of F.W. Eversley & Co. This was a Black-owned company started by civil engineer Frederick W. Eversley, Jr. in 1963. When the nocturnal animal exhibition opened, the firm was about to hit its business peak in the #newyorkmetro area.
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Photo showing exterior of World of Darkness, 1969

Photo showing exhibit of World of Darkness, circa 1970.

... is a wealth of historical information today! The cover art evokes a spooky mystery, while the news releases inside come with quotes and context from Director William Conway and the PR firm for architect Morris Ketchum.
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Illustrated eyes of nocturnal animals on black background

Illustrated eyes of nocturnal animals on black background

On this #ThrowbackThursday, the WCS #Archives looks back at the June 12, 1969 opening of the Bronx Zoo’s World of Darkness. That unique exhibition’s press kit, a folder packed with photos, facts, and statements from zoo leaders intended to help with news coverage...
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Illustration: Starfishes from Di, Station 113 by Helen Tee-Van

Illustration: Giant green-eyed lantern fish by Helen Tee-Van

Illustration: Seahorse by Helen Tee-Van

Illustration: Astronesthes pursuing Myctophym coccoi by night by Helen Tee-Van

Shown here: "Starfishes from Di, Station 113," "Giant green-eyed lantern fish," "Seahorses," "Astronesthes pursuing Myctophym coccoi by night" (all by Helen Damrosch Tee-Van) from Arcturus Expedition illustrations IV, 1925, WCS #Archives Collection 1039
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Hudson Canyon - WCS.org

Today, WCS is working to designate the #hudsoncanyon as a National Marine Sanctuary. See www.wcs.org/get-involved... for more.
Post 1: Staff examining specimens during an earlier part of the expedition. From “The Arcturus Expeditionary Ship of the NYZS,” 1925, WCS #Archives Collection 5011
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100 years ago today, @wcs.org's Department of Tropical Research began their study of the Hudson Canyon as part of the Arcturus Expedition. They were awestruck by the diversity and beauty of the species they found just 100 miles off the coast of New York City.
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#newyorkcity

Zoom in on negative of group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea

...the print’s detail, and finally the negative’s detail. We see a phenomenal range of contrast and a sharper image (especially on that pulley line in the foreground). We’re excited to share more, including never-before-seen images, as the project progresses in the coming months. Thanks METRO!
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Zoom in on photo print of group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea

...we tried upgrading our scans of small photo prints taken on the 1925 Arcturus voyage to scans of the same image using the glass plate negatives. For the detail-oriented, the results were eye-popping! Just look at the cropped images here; post 1 is a wide shot from the negative, in post 2...
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Department of Tropical Research group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea_1925

We’re so excited about our new Digitization Project Grant from Metropolitan New York Library Council! We’ve got plans to digitize some beautiful glass plate negatives showing the expeditions of the Department of Tropical Research that have never been digitized before. Months ago...
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#archives

This Shark Week, some ideas on ‘Jaws’ at 50 I first saw “Jaws” during its theatrical debut in 1975 when I was 15. The previous year, family friends had loaned me Peter Benchley’s novel. The book and film terrified me. But I had been a shark-…

As the film turns 50, don't blame ‘Jaws‘ for our fear of sharks, writes Hans Walters of WCS‘s New York Aquarium.

But in reality, Walters writes for @nydailynews.com, this group of animals bears little resemblance to the antagonist of the book and film.

🌎 www.nydailynews.com/2025/07/19/t...

Illustration of grasshopper ride of Bug Carousel and accompanying blurb from 2005 printed map of Bronx Zoo.

The attraction was fabricated by Carousel Works of Ohio with @wcs.org's Exhibition and Graphic Arts and Guest Services departments. The clippings are from a Bronx Zoo Map of 2005 and the 2015 photo is by then-staff photographer Julie Larsen.
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#archives

Photo of Bug Carousel in 2015 with grasshopper ride at foreground center.

Don’t let this news make you feel dizzy but yesterday marked 20 years of spinning at the Bronx Zoo’s Bug Carousel! The merry-go-round opened on July 13, 2005 with 64 kinds of creatures modeled as rides. (28 were beetles!)
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Cover of JungleWorld dedication program, 1985.

Teachers and students look at the JungleWorld exhibition, 1986.

Educators Workshop in JungleWorld, 1988.

Seen here are construction photos from the early 1980s, a program for the dedication ceremony, and students & teachers visiting in the late 1980s. To learn more, read our blog post “A Jungle in the Bronx.”
www.wcsarchivesblog.org/a-jungle-in-...
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Interior construction of JungleWorld in the early 1980s.

Interior construction of JungleWorld in the early 1980s.

Interior construction of JungleWorld in the early 1980s.

Please join the WCS #Archives in wishing the Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld exhibition a happy 40th anniversary! JungleWorld opened on June 22, 1985. The 1-acre and 1,000,000 cubic ft. exhibition was the final section of Wild Asia. It opened with over 70 species of tropical Asian wildlife.
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1900 architectural plan for Baird Ct.

For more info on buildings along Astor Ct., see our virtual walking tour: www.urbanarchive.org/stories/NFvh...
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#archives

View of Fountain Circle on Baird Ct. in 1909.

View of Lion House and Bird House on northern end of Baird Ct. in 1909.

In 1989, it was renamed in recognition of @wcs.org trustee Brooke Astor. Shown are Director Conway and Astor at the dedication in 1989, views of the court’s northern end in 1909, and a preliminary 1900 plan for the court and concourse by landscape architect H. A. Caparn.
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Director William Conway and Trustee Brooke Astor look at dedication plaque for Astor Ct. in 1989

View of Bird House on Baird Ct. in 1909.

On this date 25 years ago, Astor Court at the Bronx Zoo was officially recognized as a New York City landmark! Designed by Bronx Zoo Director Hornaday and the architectural firm Heins & LaFarge, it was originally named Baird Court after the famed 19th century naturalist Spencer Baird.
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Archival map of Arcturus Oceanographic Expedition Atlantic Ocean stations.

Archival map of Arcturus Oceanographic Expedition Pacific Ocean stations.

The film clips of the Spring 1925 voyage show dredging specimens in the Atlantic and a Galapagos tortoise and cormorant seen during the Pacific leg of the trip. These maps show the routes.
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The steam yacht with William Beebe's DTR staff began in the Atlantic, then--by way of Panama--went into the Pacific and concluded in the Atlantic.
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