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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · 9d

Shown are a 1906 postcard image of the aviary and its surroundings and a 1924 photo of a male argus pheasant taking in the view.
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · 9d

The building and enclosures went through a renovation in 1968. A new restoration effort took place earlier this year, and included better accessibility for keepers and artificial flowing streams for birds.
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#archives

Black and white photo of Male argus pheasant in enclosure with a uniformed keeper in the background. Taken in May 1924.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · 9d

We couldn't let this month end without a winged salute to 120 years of the Pheasant Aviary at the Bronx Zoo. The unique wood-framed, Tudor style building opened in September 1905, relieving some of the overcrowding at the Aquatic Bird House and Ostrich House.
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Colorized postcard image of the Pheasant Aviary set back within the landscape of the Bronx Zoo.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · 23d

...a treasure trove of design drafts and graphics for the Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and the New York Aquarium.
It’ll take some time before this collection is fully processed and digitized, but we couldn’t wait to show off some of these stunning images with you.
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · 23d

#dyk? Alongside preserving and sharing historical @wcs.org records, the WCS #Archives also collects today’s materials to save for future generations. We’re especially excited about a recent addition from WCS’s Exhibits and Graphic Arts Department:
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Aug 8

(If you ❤️ gazelles, sit tight. #WorldGazelleDay is July 9!)
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Aug 8

This Sunday, Aug. 10 is #WorldLionDay. The WCS #Archives holds bracing footage of a 1973 film titled "Predators of the Serengeti." It features George Schaller's Serengeti-based research on predator-prey relationships. The clips show lions hunting gazelles.
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 31

A highlight is the short biography of the construction firm of F.W. Eversley & Co. This was a Black-owned company started by civil engineer Frederick W. Eversley, Jr. in 1963. When the nocturnal animal exhibition opened, the firm was about to hit its business peak in the #newyorkmetro area.
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 31

... is a wealth of historical information today! The cover art evokes a spooky mystery, while the news releases inside come with quotes and context from Director William Conway and the PR firm for architect Morris Ketchum.
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Photo showing exterior of World of Darkness, 1969

Photo showing exhibit of World of Darkness, circa 1970.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 31

On this #ThrowbackThursday, the WCS #Archives looks back at the June 12, 1969 opening of the Bronx Zoo’s World of Darkness. That unique exhibition’s press kit, a folder packed with photos, facts, and statements from zoo leaders intended to help with news coverage...
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Illustrated eyes of nocturnal animals on black background

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 25

Shown here: "Starfishes from Di, Station 113," "Giant green-eyed lantern fish," "Seahorses," "Astronesthes pursuing Myctophym coccoi by night" (all by Helen Damrosch Tee-Van) from Arcturus Expedition illustrations IV, 1925, WCS #Archives Collection 1039
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Illustration: Starfishes from Di, Station 113 by Helen Tee-Van

Illustration: Giant green-eyed lantern fish by Helen Tee-Van

Illustration: Astronesthes pursuing Myctophym coccoi by night by Helen Tee-Van

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 25

Today, WCS is working to designate the #hudsoncanyon as a National Marine Sanctuary. See www.wcs.org/get-involved... for more.
Post 1: Staff examining specimens during an earlier part of the expedition. From “The Arcturus Expeditionary Ship of the NYZS,” 1925, WCS #Archives Collection 5011
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Hudson Canyon - WCS.org

www.wcs.org

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 25

100 years ago today, @wcs.org's Department of Tropical Research began their study of the Hudson Canyon as part of the Arcturus Expedition. They were awestruck by the diversity and beauty of the species they found just 100 miles off the coast of New York City.
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 21

...the print’s detail, and finally the negative’s detail. We see a phenomenal range of contrast and a sharper image (especially on that pulley line in the foreground). We’re excited to share more, including never-before-seen images, as the project progresses in the coming months. Thanks METRO!
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Zoom in on negative of group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 21

...we tried upgrading our scans of small photo prints taken on the 1925 Arcturus voyage to scans of the same image using the glass plate negatives. For the detail-oriented, the results were eye-popping! Just look at the cropped images here; post 1 is a wide shot from the negative, in post 2...
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Zoom in on photo print of group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 21

We’re so excited about our new Digitization Project Grant from Metropolitan New York Library Council! We’ve got plans to digitize some beautiful glass plate negatives showing the expeditions of the Department of Tropical Research that have never been digitized before. Months ago...
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Department of Tropical Research group examining Haul, station 8, Sargasso Sea_1925

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Reposted by WCS Archives

Wildlife Conservation Society @wcs.org · Jul 19

As the film turns 50, don't blame ‘Jaws‘ for our fear of sharks, writes Hans Walters of WCS‘s New York Aquarium.

But in reality, Walters writes for @nydailynews.com, this group of animals bears little resemblance to the antagonist of the book and film.

🌎 www.nydailynews.com/2025/07/19/t...

This Shark Week, some ideas on ‘Jaws’ at 50

I first saw “Jaws” during its theatrical debut in 1975 when I was 15. The previous year, family friends had loaned me Peter Benchley’s novel. The book and film terrified me. But I had been a shark-…

www.nydailynews.com

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 14

The attraction was fabricated by Carousel Works of Ohio with @wcs.org's Exhibition and Graphic Arts and Guest Services departments. The clippings are from a Bronx Zoo Map of 2005 and the 2015 photo is by then-staff photographer Julie Larsen.
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Illustration of grasshopper ride of Bug Carousel and accompanying blurb from 2005 printed map of Bronx Zoo.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jul 14

Don’t let this news make you feel dizzy but yesterday marked 20 years of spinning at the Bronx Zoo’s Bug Carousel! The merry-go-round opened on July 13, 2005 with 64 kinds of creatures modeled as rides. (28 were beetles!)
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Photo of Bug Carousel in 2015 with grasshopper ride at foreground center.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 23

Seen here are construction photos from the early 1980s, a program for the dedication ceremony, and students & teachers visiting in the late 1980s. To learn more, read our blog post “A Jungle in the Bronx.”
www.wcsarchivesblog.org/a-jungle-in-...
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Cover of JungleWorld dedication program, 1985.

Teachers and students look at the JungleWorld exhibition, 1986.

Educators Workshop in JungleWorld, 1988.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 23

Please join the WCS #Archives in wishing the Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld exhibition a happy 40th anniversary! JungleWorld opened on June 22, 1985. The 1-acre and 1,000,000 cubic ft. exhibition was the final section of Wild Asia. It opened with over 70 species of tropical Asian wildlife.
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Interior construction of JungleWorld in the early 1980s.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 20

For more info on buildings along Astor Ct., see our virtual walking tour: www.urbanarchive.org/stories/NFvh...
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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 20

In 1989, it was renamed in recognition of @wcs.org trustee Brooke Astor. Shown are Director Conway and Astor at the dedication in 1989, views of the court’s northern end in 1909, and a preliminary 1900 plan for the court and concourse by landscape architect H. A. Caparn.
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View of Fountain Circle on Baird Ct. in 1909.

View of Lion House and Bird House on northern end of Baird Ct. in 1909.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 20

On this date 25 years ago, Astor Court at the Bronx Zoo was officially recognized as a New York City landmark! Designed by Bronx Zoo Director Hornaday and the architectural firm Heins & LaFarge, it was originally named Baird Court after the famed 19th century naturalist Spencer Baird.
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Director William Conway and Trustee Brooke Astor look at dedication plaque for Astor Ct. in 1989

View of Bird House on Baird Ct. in 1909.

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WCS Archives @wcs-archives.bsky.social · Jun 6

The film clips of the Spring 1925 voyage show dredging specimens in the Atlantic and a Galapagos tortoise and cormorant seen during the Pacific leg of the trip. These maps show the routes.
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Archival map of Arcturus Oceanographic Expedition Atlantic Ocean stations.

Archival map of Arcturus Oceanographic Expedition Pacific Ocean stations.

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