The first buildings
The zoo’s original permanent buildings were designed by the architects Heins and LaFarge, and many of them stand in Astor Court, an old section of the park. The Monkey House opened in 1901, the Lion House in 1903 and the domed Elephant House, now the Zoo Center, in 1908.
Animals in stone
Look up at the facades for carved animals: elephant heads beside the Zoo Center’s arch, and monkeys in the pediment of the Monkey House, which closed to animals in 2012. The former Lion House has held the Madagascar! exhibit since 2008.
A protected court
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Astor Court’s buildings a city landmark in 2000. The court remains one of the best places to see how the zoo looked in its first decades.



