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The Old Zoo @ Griffith Park
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
5 reviews for The Old Zoo @ Griffith Park
I was waiting for this review to pop up. Mainly because whenever I tried to create it, I could never get the actual location down right and gave up in frustration. Yes, it's in griffith park. Yes, it's really easy to get to. But for some reason it's one of the biggest in plain sight secrets of Old Los Angeles.
There's even plenty of parking right there in front of it. You just have to go up a little walk way and you'll be seeing how the old zoo looked. Rusted cages, man made rock structures that housed who knows what crazy animals in who knows how methods of not making it a case for animal cruelty.
it's really scary to think that at one point in time there were animals living in these small cages. You try going into them and you'll see what I mean. Of course you're going to be around a lot of tagging, cig butts and more items.. that.. well... let's just say that a lot of strange things happen here. I'm sure this is a hot spot for those who like to go bump in the night.
For the most part, there's a lot of fences round the cages. Walk some and you'll see where people have cut holes in them so that you can walk directly into the rusted metal cages. It's really something to be seen as forgotten urban exploration that is often a rare thing in Los Angeles.. at least outside of Downtown.
And those who do venture here after dark, you'll hear a lot of coyotes as they ran sack the area for food that the picnic goers left behind. There's a lot of tables set up in the dirt patches where the open cages where at.
You can really make this into a good picnic and a specific romantic date. That is if you're going out with someone who is going to see this as something neat and wondrous instead of calling PETA on speed dial to try to mend whatever poor treatment the city of Los Angeles had towards animals.
Hikers use this area a lot as it's the start/end of a fairly decent path around Griffith Park. Over all, this is one amazing sight to see.
I first learned about the old zoo while researching Brand Canyon online. The zoo merited an immediate visit. It was surreal to see picnicking families in the vicinity of creepy cages. I was surprised, pleased, that the buildings haven't been fully sealed off or razed. Definitely a must see.
Wow!! I am stoked someone else wrote about the old zoo. My husband read about it, so we took the dogs up there and walked around. Its a trip! The old cages are still there, many in shambles.
Nice bit of history. Good place to relax, eat some lunch and enjoy being an Angeleno...
I love this place!! It's very cool to think that animals used to run around in the cages. It has really neat man made caves and if you are feeling adventurous go up to the top of the caves and climb through the gates and then go down. That's where all the lions dens are which are super neat!! They are covered with graffiti and are really cool to take pictures in. Also the stares coming down into the caves are neat. This place is a great place for a photo shoot if you are a photographer. I've done two shoots here and the pix came out fabulous!!! This place is great and I hope LA never tears it down.
I didn't think this place was real because the first time I ever heard of it was when I saw 'Police Academy 2.' This was the bad guys hangout. I even went to High School near Griffith Park and been there dozens of times and never knew it was real.
Well, much to my delight, it is real! It's a little tucked away in the hills behind the Carousel. You can't see it driving around. There's a little picnic area with a trail at the end to access it. Walking up the trail, you'll see a picnic area and giant man made rocks that defined the enclosures that the animals were kept in. Wandering around them is really cool. Fun and kinda creepy at the same time. The stairwells are the best. They are very popular with doing photoshoots. The stairwell is accessible up and around the back. You have to go through a hole in the fence to get in.
A little further up there's some kind of beat up shack that's graffitied up and what I believe were bird cages. Even further up there's a cool cage that is also fun to take pictures at. Last time I went there it was half buried, which was probably due the fires about a year and a half ago.
Going up the trail to the right from the huge enclosures are more cages.
I'm glad the powers that be made the decision in 1965 to keep this site as is when they built the LA Zoo as many know it to be. It's a nice little find. Go during the weekday to avoid all the little bratty kids running around from the Birthday Parties they usually have on weekends.
Also, watch out for rattlesnakes during the warmer months. Carry a stick and be careful around leafy areas.