Fairgrounds Park Bear Pits North Spring Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63107

"This is a cool part of St. Louis history from the 1800s... Before there was the St Louis Zoo, there was one here at Fairground Park"

"If you stand in the southeast corner of Fairground Park, near Grand and Natural Bridge, you can’t miss it: an ornate fortress wall, thick with brick and stone, segmented by four crenellated turrets. It’s the only structure left from St. Louis’ first zoo—and it once housed bears. In 1856, the land that’s now the park became the site of a sprawling Agricultural and Mechanical Fair, held annually. The fairgrounds eventually included exhibition halls; a three-story “gallinarium” (chicken palace) for showing off poultry; a half-mile horse racing track and grandstand; and an amphitheater that could hold tens of thousands of spectators. When the Civil War erupted, the Union Army converted that amphitheater into a hospital. The fairgrounds as a whole, plus an adjacent property, became the Benton Barracks; thousands of soldiers, and even some refugee slaves, passed through. After the war, the annual fair resumed, and the organizers decided to assemble a zoo. They built several structures in 1876, including the fortress wall. It was near the entrance and deep enough to hold bear pits. Within a decade, the zoo had added llamas, antelopes, tapirs, kangaroos, and a water hog, but the bears were the main attraction. Admission was 25 cents for adults, 10 cents for children. Yet the zoo struggled financially. In 1891, the animals went to public auction. The Ringling Brothers and some private citizens bought specimens, but many others were snatched up by the city, which was planning a new zoo for Forest Park. The city managed to acquire, among other animals, a herd of elk, a Zebu cow, and a bull camel named Clint. The last two were escorted through the streets to their new home; the more skittish animals made the short journey in wooden crates. The fairgrounds zoo had always been a rambunctious place; one groundskeeper was gored by a buffalo and saw his clothes ripped by a leopard. But the dismantling was particularly chaotic. An old lioness named Kate refused to enter her crate and had to be subdued with ropes. Pat the panther screamed after being lured into a box with a piece of meat and locked inside. The black wolf somehow escaped, triggering a 5-mile chase. It’s less clear from press reports what happened to the bears, but their enclosure endures. The city bought the land and christened Fairground Park in 1909. There was talk of converting the bear pits into a “comfort station” or even handball courts. Instead, they’ve been sealed up and now serve as storage space for the parks department."

"For worker's only stores their equipment"

"Love it"

"This is really cool. I don't think the actual pits are there but there is a neat little castle thing. It is amazing how historic this park is."