Rodriguez1

Noemi Rodriguez
ENGL 113B
Professor Lawson
11 February 2017
Project Space: Ethnography
558 words
The Griffith Park Zoo
It was a cloudy Saturday morning, the abandoned zoo is one of the places where people

can go hiking and have picnics. The zoo is located in Griffith park at the eastern end of the Santa

Monica Mountain and Los Feliz neighborhood. The former attraction was open to the public in

1912 but was shut down in 1966 due to poor conditions. All of the animals had been transferred

to the new L.A Zoo which opened at the same year that the Griffith Park Zoo was closed down.

During my first visit, it was quiet due to the fact that not many people come to hike in the

mornings which has given it a peaceful and relaxing view on the preserve area full of wildlife

and nature.
While walking up the hill, there was an empty cabin that was near the zoo. It was

surrounded by a wire fence which is now damaged, and inside there was nothing but dust and

spider webs. The abandoned zoo itself has the appearance of a ghost town with lots of graffiti,

trash, and reptiles wandering around. Everything that remains at the zoo is still the same,

nothing was removed or destroyed. However, as I looked around it was creepy and beautiful

because it was not only full of empty cages but there were huge areas with lots of trees and

benches where people can enjoy the nature around the ruins. Also there were a few animal

exhibits that the public have access to which they can explore the inside of the zoo. The entire

area looks messy although there were a lot of things to see.

The enclosures of the animals have tiny spaces with rusty, damaged bars. By the looks of

each cage it reminds me of prison cells because it had such a small space that the animals can

barely move at all. When entering these exhibits, people can experience on how the animals use

to feel while living in them. Being inside of cage makes me feel depressing, trapped, and lonely.
 Rodriguez2

In some other cages, there were a lot of colorful graffitis that filled up the entire wall with bad

languages and slurs. This reflects that some people do not have respect to any abandon places.

They see it as a headquarters or a spot to smoke. I notice a couple boys smoking marijuana near

the bear cave which they began drink and litter. So many cigars, bottles, paper, and junk food

was all over the ground that it angered me a lot because nobody is willing to clean up the mess.

While passing by the cages, there was another enclosure that did not look like the others it

looked more like an entrance to an ancient temple. Inside was dark with more graffitis however

there were stairs that led to another cage that is now blocked.
The Griffith Park zoo is an open area for everyone to visit and have family activities such

as picnics, parties, etc. The environment invites the public to imagen how it was in the past,

picturing all the animals in their enclosures and people walking around. They feel amazed to see

a place surrounded by nature which expresses the meaning of life. As of today the abandon

attraction remains part of the jungle, belonging to the animals and people that protects it.