Why go
The zoo’s older structures tell a story of changing animal care and exhibit design. Bear Mountain used concrete rockwork, planted scenery and hidden moats to replace the look of a cage. Compare that early idea with the larger, more complex habitats built for primates, predators and elephants.
The full story
An orphaned American black bear cub helped start the zoo in City Park in 1896. Early collections included waterfowl and other animals familiar to the region. In the early twentieth century, Denver began rethinking how animals should be displayed. City landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer planned changes, and zoo director Victor H. Borcherdt designed Bear Mountain, which opened in 1918. Its colored and textured concrete imitated rock formations near Morrison, while planted areas, water and concealed moats replaced the visual barrier of iron bars. The result was an early naturalistic exhibit, though standards for animal care have continued to evolve. Later habitats expanded the idea of space and activity: Primate Panorama emphasized climbing, and Predator Ridge used rotating areas to bring different scents into animal environments. Seeing these designs in sequence makes the zoo’s built landscape part of the visit, not simply the setting around its animals.