Sunday, September 8, 2013

A Trip to the Zoo

We took our last day trip of the Summer and headed to the St. Louis Zoo. It is one of my favorite places to go.  A great place to go to be reminded of God's glorious creation.

My daughter and I were very excited about our trip...


my hubby and son...not so much! But we did end up having a wonderful day, the temperatures were in the 80's so the animals were feeling good! The elephant statue below is always feeling good! ;-)


The Zoo opened 104 years ago and boasts lots of beauty in its historic architecture.

Below is a 1933 postcard of the Reptile house built in 1927.


The interior details are just incredible. The pretty columns and all that gilt work...


the iron railings...


and the beautiful light fixtures! The chain hangs from a metal snake and look at the tassels hanging from the bottom of the globes. So gorgeous!


Below is a photo of one of the many windows on the outside of this building. Don't you just love the detail of the wrought iron?


The next postcard is of the Monkey house. It opened in 1925.


An interior view of the windows with white railings...


and a sweet little monkey wondering what in the world I am doing!


The 1919 postcard below is of the Large Animal House. It opened in 1916 and was later used as the Lion House.


In 1919 the Elephant heads were moved to this building, the elephants do not reside in this building though.


They are here in more of a natural habitat area. Mama and baby were so much fun to watch that day.


In the below vignette I have used two 1920's or so postcards showing the newly constructed open air bear pits and a few vintage Zoo souvenirs.



And now for the oldest structure at the Zoo. The 1914 postcard below is the birdcage that was built by the Smithsonian Institution for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.


The flamingo's are always a favorite of mine...


The birdcage is now used as a Cypress Swamp area for many birds but there is also a Bird House at the Zoo. I do not have a postcard of this building but I took an interior photo of one of the many pillars. I liked the detail of the birds and flowers. Sorry it's not very clear.


The outside of the building had lots of pretty details. I just love the peacocks and look at the penguin on top of the pillar! (on the top right)


More flamingo's and penguins...


After showing you all that wonderful architecture I'll share with you just a few of my favorite animal pics.






So as you can tell...I REALLY love the Zoo. So much so that I even decorated the kids bathroom with animal ceramic tile that I bought at the Zoo back in 2010, their Zootennial year.
I have the tile going all the way around the room, alternating them with plain blue tile.


Pictured below is a close up the Zoo souvenirs that are next to the giraffe's hoof. FYI-the stuffed toy giraffe is only in this spot for the picture.


Here are all the animal tile that I bought. I only got 10, luckily the room is small because the tile were not cheap!


Thank you for coming along on our Zoo trip, we hope you had a fabulously "wild" time!



I want to thank Pamela over at TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY  and
Cindy over at AMAZE ME MONDAY for featuring my "Changes in the Parlor" post as one of the most viewed posts.

I am linking up with the following parties, please come join us.
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy at DWELLINGS
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Paula at IVY AND ELEPHANTS
HOME with Sandi at ROSE CHINTZ COTTAGE
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela at FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy at a DELIGHTSOME LIFE
HOME SWEET HOME with Sherry at THE CHARM OF HOME
PINK SATURDAY  with Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for reminding me how special the St Louis Zoo is..it has been too long since I have been there. You did a great job of reminding me of its beauty. Great Cards tee shirt! 1st place yippee!

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  2. Took my kids to the Washington zoo when they were young and if we were out of town we would visit others, never one like this.
    This is one I would have liked to visit much more. Great architecture, history and beauty. I like the monkey, so cute. Nice family outing and pictures.
    betsy

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  3. Wow, I never thought of a zoo as being beautiful but this one is beautiful!

    Blessings,

    Kim

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  4. The architecture of the zoo is amazing. Such a wonderful place to spend the day with your family. I was also drawn to the vintage postcards. I love that sweet, little monkey! Terrific post!
    Blessings from Still Woods Farmhouse

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  5. Gina, great post combining current photos with your vintage keepsakes. So many interesting architectural details in the exhibition buildings! I certainly have never visited a zoo with such beautiful buildings. Enjoyed seeing the photos of your family.

    Debra

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  6. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures, Gina! I have been there in the 70's, so long ago that I don't remember how it looks like. My sister lives in St. Louis....Christine

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  7. I went by the Zoo last weekend on my trip to St Louis
    I remember the first time I seen the birdcage from 1960's and like your vintage postcard of it
    your daughter looks so cute standing with the seals
    it looked like a great family day trip

    hope to see you at an estate sale before the snow flys LOL

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  8. Hi Gina. That looks like a wonderful zoo. I love zoos. What a beautiful family you have. Who is the mother and who is the daughter in the first picture?..Happy Wednesday..Judy

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  9. Hi Gina,
    What a fun day you had! It's been awhile since I've been to a large zoo, but I always enjoyed them. You have a lovely family and you and your daughter so pretty! Have a wonderful week!
    Nancy

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  10. I really enjoyed how you photographed your visit and prepared the blog. I'm your newest follower! My daughter and her family made a trip to the zoo a few years ago as did my son when his band played nearby. Now I know what I missed. Fabulous!

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  11. Gina,
    What an interesting post!! The architecture is spectacular!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

    Thanks too for always stopping by!!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  12. My son and grandson would certainly enjoy visiting the zoo! They are both huge nature lovers which they inherited from me. I love the bird cage; it's amazing! Thanks for taking us along and enjoy your weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful trip to the zoo.
    First off...your family is lovely and the postcards of the old zoos. Fab!!! I just love the little monkey. I'm from New Orleans and we always loved the old zoo. but the new zoo is so much healthy than the old. You outdid yourself with the pictures. I love your post.
    Blessings,
    Marie Antoinette

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  14. OH, my! I do miss those family trip days! The zoo is so much fun. The most impressive one we went to was the one in DC. Loved the historical pictures and the amazingly beautiful architectural detail here! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  15. Great photos! Thanks for sharing your excursion.

    Oh Gina. Looking so forward to your dollhouse post!

    Have a great weekend! Susan

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  16. this is really a beautiful place to spend the good stuff. i just simply love it.
    Online Beds and Mattresses shop

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