Location: Binghamton, NY
Status: Abandoned (Business is still open)
*Special Thanks to Broome County Historian Roger Luther and the Broome County Historical Society for helping provide information and photos to this entry*
The Ross Park Zoo is considered one of the many staples within the City of Binghamton. Not only is it well known among those who live in the southern tier for its many animals and various community activities, it’s also the 5th oldest zoo in America, right in-between the Buffalo Zoo and the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Within the several years the park has been opened, it has changed drastically in many different ways. One notable change that was made overtime was the park’s size as it used to span over the mountains, across the parking lot where the Discovery Center sits currently, and beyond. Because to its downsizing, there are different areas of the park that have been lost with time and sit abandoned. What areas of this well know business have been left to rot? What other changes have been made throughout the years to the park and zoo? These questions and more will be answered as we take a look at the forgotten parts of Ross Park Zoo.
Originally opening as simply Ross Park in 1875, this establishment has entertained those in the community for generations and is still going strong to this day. Before the park had opened, the City of Binghamton wanted there to be a park but wasn’t sure where it would be placed or how it would be financed. Luckily Erastus Ross, a “public spirited citizen” and Businessman, donated his 90 acres of land to the city to be built into a public park. Ross’ offer was received on January 11th of that year and was accepted later that summer on August 9th by the Common Council. On the 27th the community came together to participate in ‘Park Day’ where people helped clean the land for the new park. After this, everyone got together around 4pm for a picnic as the day was coming to an end. The next day the Binghamton Democrat newspaper described Park Day as:
“Yesterday a large number of our citizens, all the old everybodies, the middle-aged and juvenile everybodies, and the male and female everybodies were there with their aunts, cousins and mother-in-laws, and of the party many men aided in the work of clearing up the underbrush and carrying it to different available points where it was carried away by teams provided by the committee, and great progress was made in cleaning up the grounds of the accumulated debris, so that the universal appraisal was that no one before had known of the many beautiful spots in the park that had escaped observation. The work of clearing up the grounds and roads and upon the four bridges spanning the creek progressed until it was one o’clock, when the crowd convened near the lower bridge for dinner which had been prepared in abundance by the ladies.”
Now, around this time, having a public park was seen as a bit unusual since most parks were private and many working class couldn’t afford to go to them. Thankfully the Common Council was willing to give this idea a chance and soon enough the popularity of Ross Park and their small zoo would sky rocket within the coming years as access to the establishment became easier for patrons in 1881. Around this time, the Ross Park was added to the Washington St. and State Asylum extension line so horsecar services (later trolley services) can easily drop families off at the park. Once the trolley service was available, customers were only charged 5 cents for a 1 ¾ mile ride from Court St. to the park. By 1884, people from neighboring towns started going to Ross Park’s small zoo as changes were starting to be made to the establishment. The city’s council spent $800 to purchase more animals for the zoo along with constructing many animal barns and stone walls to help create a ‘rustic park atmosphere’. Along with this change, a wider variety of animals such as elks, bears, and guinea pigs were introduced along with an old schoolhouse that was repurposed into a refreshment stand (as seen below):
The refreshment stand can be seen on the left
By 1913, Ross Park and its zoo have evolved into “...the most popular resort in this section of the country...” according to Park Commissioner John F. Ring as thousands of residents visited the establishment each year. During his report, Ring had mentioned a small merry-go-round had been running around this time along with several other things. Unfortunately, this along with many other buildings in the park would be destroyed by a severe flash flood in 1920. Luckily, Ross Park was able to recover from this and even got a new merry-go-round donated by George F. Johnson (this would be the first of the six carousels he and his family would give to the community). The only rule that was given to the carousel was that it would be free to everyone. A new band stand, concession building, animal house, dining pavilion, and ‘look-out’ pavilion were also being built around this time.
During the Great Depression and World War II years, the park and zoo were still able to maintain its busy schedules as improvements were still being made. The zoo had entered its “Era of Exotic Animals” around this time as lions, tigers, bears, and more were put on exhibit. New cages were made that included bars from the old county jail to help keep the new animals in their exhibit (even though some would still escape every here and there).
The monkey cage made out of the old country jail bars
Within the coming years this once small part of Ross Park would expand throughout the park while the park itself was expanding. By the 1960’s, not only did customers enjoy the zoo, but they also enjoyed what was at the park. Many amusement park rides were introduced by this time, including roller coasters, ferris wheels, and even a miniature train was making its way around the land. If people wanted to take a break from all the fun at the bottom of the park, they can hike to the top of the mountains where the picnic area and ‘look-out’ area were. This spot had a view where it would look over a part of the park and city.
The miniature train was a beloved attraction in the park that’s still remembered fondly to this day
Despite this being one of the highest points of Ross Park’s history, there weren’t great things going on behind the scenes. Multiple accidents and lawsuits would be happening around the park and zoo, including an incident that happened in 1963 that shocked the nation. Around 10pm and 5am, Guy E. Carey, a zoo keeper at the zoo, was killed by one of the lions in its exhibit. Carey’s body was found by a coworker that morning and Binghamton Police were called to the location. ‘Timba’, the lion who attacked Carey, was shot by officials along with cagemate ‘Tina’ in fear that she may develop a bloodlust to humans as well after the incident. This, along with multiple accidents with the miniature train and the animals on exhibit looking sick, caused people to be hesitant with going to the park and zoo. Ross Park and its zoo needed to make a change in order to stay open to the public.
A newspaper clipping from the morning after the attack
The Southern Tier Zoological Society was formed in January of 1966 as a support group to help operate the facility. Money was donated to the city within the next year for the park to use and by 1969 the society was given permission to do certain activities at the park again. The zoo was able to go back into operation again the following year as well with there being a restriction on lions following the incident that happened years prior. This ban would be lifted a few years later since “there was nothing wrong with the cages”. Instead, zoo keepers will not go in the cages alone and will only do so during the daytime.
By 1972 everything was running again and the city now owned the Ross Park Zoo. More changes would come to the facility within the next few years as the park would be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1975. The ‘Centennial Zoobilee’ was celebrated at the park for 15 weeks as a big festival with live theater productions, musical performances, nature studies, and cultural activities. With this celebration, the Ross Park Zoo was able to get their crowds back to the establishment and more. Despite all the festivities, there was still one change the zoo had to make in order to stay open: the animal cages needed to be replaced. If the zoo didn’t do this, they would be closed by the Federal Agency. The jail barred cages that have been used for years were replaced with more natural habitats within the next year. One of those old cages are still on display at the zoo to this day.
Now, as you’ve seen throughout this entry, the Ross Park Zoo has changed significantly throughout the years. Despite this, it had always maintained its size, stretching from where the zoo is now to the mountains behind it and even across the current parking lot to the other side. The establishment made one last change in the early 1980s where they ‘modernized’ everything. A basketball court was added along with a park shelter, a 100-car parking lot, a fishing pond, a wooden playground for the kids, and more. Along with this, the Discovery Center moved into one of the old barns on the land in 1987. Around this time, major renovations were happening to the Ross Park Zoo and the land shrunk down to where it is today.
Aerial view of the Ross Park Zoo before it was remodeled
Today the Ross Park Zoo and the Discovery Center brings in thousands of people to the land each year with its education focused programs and different species as the zoo. The zoo is known for their Penguins, African cats (lions and Tigers), and adorable Red Pandas. While customers enjoy this part of the land, various other parts of the park and zoo have been abandoned for decades.
One of the forgotten parts of the park is the once popular picnic area that included the ‘Look Out’ point. This part of the property is mostly overgrown with only a few structures still standing.
Views of the ‘Look Out’ area
Another part of the park that sits vacant is the old entrance that was used for years. Most people will know this part by finding the ‘Ross Park’ pillars at the entrance.
Entrance to Ross Park, 1920’s
Entrance to Ross Park, 2020’s
If you walk beyond the pillars, you’d see a stair case and a stone wall to your right. It's unknown where the staircase originally led to.
If you walk further, you’ll come across a couple worn out bridges. It’s not worth going further at this point since it will lead to a dead end.
The last area is on the other side of the park next to the Discovery Center. There is currently a large patch of land that slopes down towards a bridge on the side of a shed. This area used to be an amphitheater that belonged to the park. Unfortunately, all the structures for this were removed sometime within the last decade.
Abandoned amphitheater circa 2013 (credit:baseballoogie on flickr)
Space of former amphitheater, 2022
This land can be viewed from this bridge further up next to the entrance of the Discovery Center:
There have been rumors around the zoo that these abandoned structures will be given a new life in the future along with more new additions coming to the Ross Park Zoo. It is unknown when these renovations will take place.
It’s amazing that the Ross Park Zoo has been running for almost 150 years. Though it has come close to closing a few times, it still stands thanks to its dedicated staff, customers, and its notable history around the Southern Tier.
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