Detroit Zoo of Michigan has been one of the top Detroit family activities since officially opening on August 1, 1928.

The first attempt establishing a Detroit Zoo was in 1883, when a rich city capitalist acquired a mix of animals from a failing circus, however it would close the following year due to financial difficulties. Its building would be converted into a horse market and three decades would pass before the notion of a new zoo would arise. In 1911, an influential group featuring some of Detroit’s top names decided to establish the Detroit Zoological Society. In 1914, a lay of land was purchased in Dearborn for the new zoo, but this land was highly coveted by Henry Ford. As so, it was sold for a sum that would be used to buy a new plot of land in Six Mile. Again able to sell their land holding for profit, the Society looked for a new site, and eventually in 1916 farm lands were purchased.

The Detroit Zoo MI would establish its current location at 8450 W. Ten Mile Rd., in Royal Oak, Michigan. Construction by The Detroit Zoological Park Commission began in 1924, with a large amount of the building materials coming from local destruction sites in an effort to encourage recycling. For three years production continued with the aim of opening by the summer of 1928. By August of that year, it was open for business.

Did you know? That the Detroit Zoo operates out of the original site in Royal Oak with a naturalistic habitat covering 125 acres, and features an extension on Belle Isle where the former nature center was converted into a branch focusing on Michigan wildlife, flora and fauna. Belle Isle is located close to the hub of downtown, and is the country’s largest city-owned park.

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