L.A. Children’s Zoo Closed to Make Way for New Exhibit

The Children’s Zoo at the Los Angeles Zoo closed permanently Monday to make way for a $7-million exhibit that will feature animals and environments of the southwestern United States.

Workers put up a chain-link fence around the 2.5-acre Children’s Zoo, which opened at Griffith Park in 1965 as the first part of the present city zoo.

In the next three weeks, the animals will be moved to other zoos around the country or temporarily to other sites at the Los Angeles Zoo, said Lora La Marca, curator for education and information.

Ground clearing will begin in July for Adventure Island, an exhibit featuring animals of California and the Southwest in their natural habitats. The construction project is the largest in the zoo’s history and should be completed by December, 1988, La Marca said.