[dobermankid]

Does anyone know why Charlotte doesn't even have a zoo yet? The nearest zoo is almost 2 hours away. Even Erie, PA has a zoo and they only have a population of like 150,000. Doesn't size matter?

[amazinblue66]

Where is the nearest zoo for Charlotte?

[hauntedheadnc]

There's no point when the state zoo is in Asheboro, only 87 miles away. Charlotte is also reasonably close to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, and even the Greenville Zoo in Greenville, SC. It would be a glut and a waste of money, especially when it would be directly competing against the excellent NC State Zoo.

[urbanscraper]

There's no point when the state zoo is in Asheboro, only 87 miles away. Charlotte is also reasonably close to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, and even the Greenville Zoo in Greenville, SC. It would be a glut and a waste of money, especially when it would be directly competing against the excellent NC State Zoo.I think the NC Zoo is even closer than 87 miles. Greensboro to Charlotte is about 89 miles and I know Greensboro to Ashboro is like 25 miles. NC Zoo is almost the exact center of the state. The only kind of zoo Id see Charlotte getting is a metro zoo which would be much much smaller than the state zoo and not funded by the state but the city of Charlotte. Charlotte will never get a zoo the size of the state's zoo.

[357wayz]

Does anyone know why Charlotte doesn't even have a zoo yet? The nearest zoo is almost 2 hours away. Even Erie, PA has a zoo and they only have a population of like 150,000. Doesn't size matter?

Because there's one an hour away. If it takes you 2 hours to drive to Asheboro, you may need to service your engine.

[Teshadoh]

doberman - consider when most zoos in this country opened. Especially your example of Erie, PA. Erie 100 years ago was a prosperous large city for it's time, Charlotte was not so much on both counts. Most city zoos are a product of the Victorian era, when permanent carnivals were common & animal exhibits were very popular.

[Chris Creech]

doberman - consider when most zoos in this country opened. Especially your example of Erie, NY. Erie 100 years ago was a prosperous large city for it's time, Charlotte was not so much on both counts. Most city zoos are a product of the Victorian era, when permanent carnivals were common & animal exhibits were very popular.

Exactly, I thought this story rang a bell so I looked up the history on the Atlanta Zoo, I'm sure it happened all over the country though.

"The zoo was founded in 1889 , when local lumber merchant George Gress bought a traveling zoo that had gone bankrupt (the manager had absconded with all the money) and was stranded in the city. The zoo was expanded by the addition in the early 20th century of the animal collection of Asa Candler, founder of The Coca-Cola Company, who had built a private zoo on the grounds of his estate but had to sell it when it became a nuisance to his neighbors."

I actually think the NC Zoo is one of the better ones in the South, just with all the acreage, and open layout, with room to grow etc.

[Tombstoner]

doberman - consider when most zoos in this country opened. Especially your example of Erie, NY. Erie 100 years ago was a prosperous large city for it's time, Charlotte was not so much on both counts. Most city zoos are a product of the Victorian era, when permanent carnivals were common & animal exhibits were very popular.

Erie, PA :)

[austin356]

Why does Charlotte need a Zoo?


Any money spent on building a zoo would be much better used building something like a performing arts center or something like that.

[Teshadoh]

Erie, PA :)

Corrected.

[Matthew]

The Winston-Salem Electric Railway Company (operated streetcars and developed upscale neighborhoods in the late 1800's) and Nissen Wagon Works built the Nissen Park Zoo in Winston-Salem's Southside in 1890 as a way to encourage more people to use the streetcar system on the weekend. The zoo no longer operates, but the park is still there. Each end of the streetcar system had a different attraction for weekend family activities, from mini-ballons, to an electric railroad, to a hotel & resort, to a golf course, to the Piedmont Park Fairgrounds and to an amusement park with rides, a concert hall and pool. Most of it was designed and invested in by railroad companies, along with Frank Sprague (inventor of electric streetcars) and Thomas Edison. I would imagine theme parks, zoos, major city parks and other attractions in most major cities date back to these streetcar lines? This is a guess based on what I've read about Winston-Salem. I'm sure this was a model used in many early electric streetcar cities?

[dobermankid]

Why does Charlotte need a Zoo?


Any money spent on building a zoo would be much better used building something like a performing arts center or something like that.


Charlotte already has a performing arts center and just about everything else you could think of. Why not a zoo now?

[Teshadoh]

Charlotte already has a performing arts center and just about everything else you could think of. Why not a zoo now?

Read the posts above, that is why Charlotte does not have a zoo. Most traditional zoos set in an urban setting were started 100 years ago. The only modern variation on the zoo is a zoo like Asheboro, just a short distance away from Charlotte. Why build another zoo? Ignore the whole subject regarding ego, why should Charlotte build a new zoo when it most likely will pale to the nearby Asheboro zoo?

[erm1981]

just go to columbia or greenville. they have nice zoos.

[RockHillJames]

Charlotte was a streetcar city too. Latta Pavilion was an amusment park/zoo at the turn of the century. It is, of course, built over now.

Charlotte might eventually have a zoo, but only if a very rich corporation or individual decides to start one. They are, you know, expensive.

Riverbanks in Columbia is a great zoo, and it's only an hour a way.

[KB0679]

Go to Riverbanks.

[Style]

i want a a really cool aquarium. maybe the guy from lowe's will give us one. after all, atlanta has one. ;)

[AubieTurtle]

eh... you all got the NASCAR Museum. Why worry about getting things that so many other cities have instead of focusing on what makes Charlotte unique?

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

There's no point when the state zoo is in Asheboro, only 87 miles away. Charlotte is also reasonably close to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, and even the Greenville Zoo in Greenville, SC. It would be a glut and a waste of money, especially when it would be directly competing against the excellent NC State Zoo.

That's really the idea. I've been to the NC State Zoo and the other zoos down here, and they're just are not as well-funded---it's almost like being at Disney World or something. You could almost fit Zoo Atlanta and Riverbanks into one of NC State Zoo's parking lots. It would be next to impossible for Charlotte to fund anything like that.

[ScreamShatter]

Maybe Carowinds will consider adding a smaller zoo section with some kind of tropical rollercoaster nearby.

[HSVTiger]

eh... you all got the NASCAR Museum. Why worry about getting things that so many other cities have instead of focusing on what makes Charlotte unique?

Won't that museum become the official North Carolina "Zoo", :notacrook:

just kidding:jester:

[erm1981]

Riverbanks is a pretty big zoo. I doubt you would fit it in any kind of parking lot of a NC zoo. Thats just crazy! LSyd .....isnt that true?

[KB0679]

Build a fence around Chapel Hill and transport the town to Mecklenburg County.

[CLTNC]

I been to Africa and seen the animals in the wild. A zoo does not do much for me anymore after seeing the animals in the wild. To me a good zoo would take up too much land. I don't care to see animals in cages.

[Teshadoh]

I been to Africa and seen the animals in the wild. A zoo does not do much for me anymore after seeing the animals in the wild. To me a good zoo would take up too much land. I don't care to see animals in cages.

Not everyone has the luxory to go to Africa. I like zoos, they expand people's view of the world & nature - helping promote the need to preserve wildlife.

[Teshadoh]

Riverbanks is a pretty big zoo. I doubt you would fit it in any kind of parking lot of a NC zoo. Thats just crazy!

You fail to appreciate the size of most NC parking lots ;)

[AubieTurtle]

Not everyone has the luxory to go to Africa.

Peace Corp takes older volunteers :)

[LSyd]

Riverbanks is a pretty big zoo. I doubt you would fit it in any kind of parking lot of a NC zoo. Thats just crazy! LSyd .....isnt that true?

damned straight. too bad some Charlotteans seem scared of/reluctant to visit Columbia, or SC in general. :rolleyes: :koko: (i'm serious.)

-

p.s. i also know a few that might as well have dual residency, and a few people who want a commuter rail so they can work in Charlotte but live in Columbia. :haha: :tup:

[Pillsbury Doughboy]

Riverbanks is a pretty big zoo. I doubt you would fit it in any kind of parking lot of a NC zoo. Thats just crazy! LSyd .....isnt that true?

Nothing against any of the other zoos. I grew up going to Riverbanks, and it's a great zoo. But the NC Zoo is massive. Much bigger than Atlanta's or Columbia's. No disrespect, just trying to be fair and balanced, like Fox News. ;)

[durhamite]

damned straight. too bad some Charlotteans seem scared of/reluctant to visit Columbia, or SC in general. :rolleyes: :koko: (i'm serious.)

-

p.s. i also know a few that might as well have dual residency, and a few people who want a commuter rail so they can work in Charlotte but live in Columbia. :haha: :tup:

I don't think anyone from Charlotte or NC has a problem with visiting or hanging out in Columbia......I just don't get it? Columbia isn't a huge toursim destination as Myrtle Beach or Charleston (or Wilmington or Asheville). How many people from Columbia casually stroll up to Raleigh/Durham for a weekend or vice versa. Neither is a big tourist destination but have both have points of interest if you ever happen to be in the area.

It's just a case of NCarolinians supporting the NC Zoo.

On the commuter rail idea, fantastic and those that worked in Columbia and wanted to live in Charlotte could take advantage of it as well ;) .

[Teshadoh]

I think North Carolinians have as much of a reason to visit Roanoke, VA or Knoxville, TN as Columbia, SC. I don't see much of a reason to visit Columbia over closer border cities such as Greenville, SC or more appealing cities such as Richmond, VA.

Otherwise - do South Carolinians have any reason to have not visited Raleigh or Winston-Salem, NC. I've only driven through & once visited Raleigh for a concert when I lived in SC.

[kickazzz2000]

Build a fence around Chapel Hill and transport the town to Mecklenburg County.

Thanks, Senator Helms.

[Evergrey]

interestingly, metro Charlotte and metro Erie were about the same size 50 or 60 years ago... how they've gone on different paths since then