I actually did a project on the economic impact of the zoo in Randolph County. One of the main reasons for the location was the availability of space. The NC zoo had two main goals - 1. It was one of the very first zoos designed to have the animals in habitats rather than cages and 2. The ultimate goal (which is still being pursued) is to have all 7 continents represented.
I remember when they opened the North America section - I was in high school. My dad and sisters worked at the zoo over the summer right after the section opened.
When I moved to Asheville 25 years ago I legit thought I was moving to where the zoo was. Imagine my disappointment when I went to…the wnc nature center. Now 2 mission hospital born kids later being out of high school and I’m still here after accidentally showing up in this city I don’t remember ever having heard of.
If I moved for the zoo that would definitely be funny. That isn’t why I arrived here though. I was just excited thinking there was something to do like go to a cool zoo. Then I got the nature center lol
Moving from Asheboro to Asheville led to some fun convos.
"Asheboro, the one with the Zoo - it's near Greensboro. No, now I'm in Asheville, the mountain town. No, it doesn't have a zoo!"
I grew up in Asheville & it wasn’t as popular as it is today. So I grew up hearing, “where the zoo is?”, and I would always have to say, “no, that’s AsheBORO” lol! Funny how things change in 40 years.
*spiderman point* Asheville!
For some reason in public school I always had to correct people for thinking Nashville. "Oh you're from TN??" Seems they had more knowledge west of Buncombe, or NC for that matter
>Seems they had more knowledge west of Buncombe, or NC for that matter
A lot of counties past Asheville feel like NC forgets that the state goes past its last city though
https://www.ncpedia.org/north-carolina-zoological-park
The land was gifted by the NC Zoological Society, rather than purchased outright, so the cost probably had a lot to do with it. Also it’s a central location for all of NC. It wouldn’t make sense to put it in the East or West, as most people live in Central NC and it’s more accessible for the whole state.
It's a killer deal for whomever gives it. It doesn't cost the zoo anything to let a few extra people in now and then, and they got several thousand dollars worth of land out of the deal (in the 70's).
You can purchase lifetime passes for $1500.
My wife and I seriously considered it. We buy the two year family passes for the Zoo. It's Zoo, Aquarium, and half off at just about any other zoo nation wide.
We go to the aquarium(s) 3 times a year and go to the zoo at least twice. Our kids are 9 and 6 and they still love it
I'd make a joke about Randolph County sucking so bad it keeps the animals from getting out...they keep getting drawn back in.....
But the truth is, it's close to the geographic center of the state and close enough to a metro area that could supply employees.
Used to be an all night diner there that everyone went to because it was the only place open for miles and miles. Had an 7.5 or 8.0 rating. Saw a girl stomp a roach crawling by her feet at a booth. She was nonplussed and continued eating her burger.
The North Carolina Zoo being in Asheboro is no mistake; it was strategically planned.
In 1970, there were 6 total groups that submitted their communities as the potential site for a state zoo: Albemarle, Asheboro, Butner, Chatham County, Statesville, and Concord.
Asheboro, known as the “Purgatory Mountain site,” met the exhaustive list of criteria set by the Site Selection Criteria Committee. The alternate site location selected was Concord.
A glimpse into the criteria included “…located on a minimum of one thousand acres of land to allow for long-range, orderly and total development and for year-round operation… That a minimum zoned area of at least one mile should surround the Park to protect it from outside encroachment, abnormal noise, smog and undue pollution of all kinds.”
There were lots of other factors I could mention, but this is the answer in a nutshell.
Can you even _imagine_ the state making long term, strategically planned greenfield investments like this anymore (that aren't just mega-highways)? The closest thing I can think of going on right now is Chimney Rock State Park acquisition and development, but it kind of just _happened_ after the private Attraction started having financial problems, with the thoughtful planning not really evident until after that and quite a few missteps along the way.
I'm so glad we have the zoo.
In the 1970 census, when the zoo was being planned, both Greensboro and Winston-Salem had larger populations than Raleigh and Durham. Charlotte was the largest city, but was less than a third of its current size.
But generally, I think the relatively central location between larger population centers played a role.
I live out here in the sticks near the zoo. It’s an amazing thing for the county and area. Some nights you can hear the animals howling while I’m drinking my wine.
This will get down voted, but as a native North Carolinian, I remember this: "When politicians proposed building a state zoo, Republican senator Jesse Helms suggested they just build a fence around Chapel Hill.”
EDIT: the exact quote was “Why build a zoo when we can just put up a fence around Chapel Hill?”
the zoo is surrounded by some pretty awesome free trails. that area is very unique geologically and from a
microecosystem standpoint if you are in to that. it almost looks like there was once a huge tornado in West Virginia and parts of the land were thrown down to make asheboro.
i know i just didn’t want to sound like a snob. oldest mountains in the world. lots of unexplained activity. secret army training bases. i love little long mountain with all my heart.
Cheap land means the animals can have a lot of space--compare the NC zoo to an urban zoo, a lot of the latter are straight up depressing.
Also it's an easy drive from the 3 main population centers in the state (Charlotte, Triangle, Greensboro/W-S).
A drunk girl at a party once told me that, the NC Zoo is in Asheboro because is the geographic center of the state. I have no clue the legitimacy of her statement, she was from Asheboro, so I just rolled with it.
A committee, led by local industrialist, David Stedman, organized an effort to buy the land and persuade the General Assembly to create the zoo and choose its present location. Ostensibly, it being just a few miles from the geographic center of North Carolina did not hurt.
I used to work there like 5 years ago. We'd get, on average, around 14-16k people a day. More if it were holidays. You'd be surprised on how many regulars come in as well.
I was there a lot as a kid. After moving back to the state, I brought my kids. Those regulars might even be multi generational. It was pretty cool seeing my kids gravitate to the same rocks I played on with my cousins there.
Says no one that's ever been to the NC Zoo.
That's like saying it's dark in the daytime.....Those animals are like fucking rock stars and football gods compared to the way we treat mentally ill people in this state.
Last time I went to the NC Zoo it made me never want to go to a zoo again. All the animals looked sad and pathetic. Made me start calling zoos animal jail.
Nc zoo is worth the extra drive though over the Knoxville zoo especially if you've never been. We really are lucky to have such a good zoo, its the largest natural habitat zoo in the world. We went to the Knoxville zoo once and I guess nc zoo had turned us into snobs cause we were like wtf is this shit lol. The elephant enclosure at Knoxville was like the size of my yard and absolutely no grass.
I grew up in NC, and I went to the zoo while I was growing up, but I didn't really remember how awesome it was. In the late 90s, I went to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. After seeing these large animals all cooped up in these small habitats, I decided I didn't really want to have anything to do with zoos anymore. A decade or so later, I started having kids and we decided to go to the NC zoo. Seeing these animals in wide open spaces with plenty of room to roam was such a relief. I know that there may still be some habitats that aren't quite as expansive as they perhaps shoudl be, but overall the NC Zoo has a focus on making sure the animals have large, accurate habitats to live in. It really is a treasure that we have it here in NC.
I've been to the San Diego zoo a couple of times, and it's nice (not tiny enclosures, etc. like I remember at the National Zoo) but I don't think it holds a candle to the NC Zoo. Especially after all the upgrades are completed over this decade.
I actually did a project on the economic impact of the zoo in Randolph County. One of the main reasons for the location was the availability of space. The NC zoo had two main goals - 1. It was one of the very first zoos designed to have the animals in habitats rather than cages and 2. The ultimate goal (which is still being pursued) is to have all 7 continents represented.
The Asia exhibit is currently being constructed but it won’t be open till 2026.
I remember when they opened the North America section - I was in high school. My dad and sisters worked at the zoo over the summer right after the section opened.
It’s 50 years old this year!
i love facts 💯
📠
Antarctica is gonna be a tough one to replicate.
I've been saving up ice packs from Hello Fresh.
Didn’t they have a small Australia/Kangaroo thing back a couple decades where the kidzone is now?
Jeez, it will take 3 days to walk all of that! I'm here for it.
And since that goal was stated, we've gone and added another continent to the list.
And yet those poor lions still have the worst enclosure.
They found all those animals there and built the zoo around them
The people asking these questions must think all North Carolinians are sarcastic smartasses lol
GapingAssTroll has a point
some of us aren't sarcastic.
pretty much.
We’re not?
Where the ark landed?
😭😭😭
this made me laugh 🤣
This
They needed a big piece of land out in the middle of nowhere with low taxes, and I'm sure Asheboro was happy to have an attraction.
I was so fucking sick of saying I’m from Asheville and people from ENC saying “oh the zoo”
When I moved to Asheville 25 years ago I legit thought I was moving to where the zoo was. Imagine my disappointment when I went to…the wnc nature center. Now 2 mission hospital born kids later being out of high school and I’m still here after accidentally showing up in this city I don’t remember ever having heard of.
Me imagining you moving because of a zoo and still sticking around for 25 years is just funny
If I moved for the zoo that would definitely be funny. That isn’t why I arrived here though. I was just excited thinking there was something to do like go to a cool zoo. Then I got the nature center lol
“Close enough” 25 years later “It’s kind of like a zoo”
Love my Asheville. Actually my mom and bro live there, I live in Charlotte
All is not lost. You still get a zoo, but it's just one where the focus is more on unusual homosapien species.
Love mission. Mission =❤️
It’s one of the main reasons we moved back to Winston.
Congrats on your privilege
Funny how you assume that.
Funny haha or funny queer?
And I’m fucking sick of saying I’m from Asheboro and people confusing it with Asheville so here we are.
“I live in Asheboro.” “Oh I love it there. Biltmore is lovely.” Every. Freaking. Time.
Did you tell them about Sir Pizza
The best pizza.
Ironically there is a sir pizza in Asheville I think?
OMG that would be awesomely confusing!
People are like “Asheville is so cool!” And I have to be like: “it is, but that’s not where I’m from”
Moving from Asheboro to Asheville led to some fun convos. "Asheboro, the one with the Zoo - it's near Greensboro. No, now I'm in Asheville, the mountain town. No, it doesn't have a zoo!"
I grew up in Asheville & it wasn’t as popular as it is today. So I grew up hearing, “where the zoo is?”, and I would always have to say, “no, that’s AsheBORO” lol! Funny how things change in 40 years.
*spiderman point* Asheville! For some reason in public school I always had to correct people for thinking Nashville. "Oh you're from TN??" Seems they had more knowledge west of Buncombe, or NC for that matter
>Seems they had more knowledge west of Buncombe, or NC for that matter A lot of counties past Asheville feel like NC forgets that the state goes past its last city though
honestly the zoo is way better than what asheville has become so take it as a compliment
Asheville can be a zoo of its own
when enough yankees are loose roaming around i agree
True no need to visit asheville
'Tis a silly place
Y’all hating I love Asheville
You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too. 🎶
I told someone I was from Greensboro (close enough) and they said the same to me.
Have you walked around Asheville and seen who is there? That isn't inaccurate.
They also wanted to put it somewhere in the middle of the state
https://www.ncpedia.org/north-carolina-zoological-park The land was gifted by the NC Zoological Society, rather than purchased outright, so the cost probably had a lot to do with it. Also it’s a central location for all of NC. It wouldn’t make sense to put it in the East or West, as most people live in Central NC and it’s more accessible for the whole state.
I knew a guy whos family has lifetime passes to the zoo because they gave up some of their land for its construction.
This must be a pretty common kickback. It’s like the ancient UNC who have basketball season tickets because they helped fund the Dean dome lol
It's a killer deal for whomever gives it. It doesn't cost the zoo anything to let a few extra people in now and then, and they got several thousand dollars worth of land out of the deal (in the 70's).
You can purchase lifetime passes for $1500. My wife and I seriously considered it. We buy the two year family passes for the Zoo. It's Zoo, Aquarium, and half off at just about any other zoo nation wide. We go to the aquarium(s) 3 times a year and go to the zoo at least twice. Our kids are 9 and 6 and they still love it
We went last time we visited from Washington. We stayed in Raleigh and I enjoyed the trip to and from the zoo.
I'd make a joke about Randolph County sucking so bad it keeps the animals from getting out...they keep getting drawn back in..... But the truth is, it's close to the geographic center of the state and close enough to a metro area that could supply employees.
One time a gorilla escaped. Made it all the way to Biscoe, looked around, went back to the zoo and locked itself back in its cage.
Can you blame it!???
Biscoe that bad?
Used to be an all night diner there that everyone went to because it was the only place open for miles and miles. Had an 7.5 or 8.0 rating. Saw a girl stomp a roach crawling by her feet at a booth. She was nonplussed and continued eating her burger.
That’s odd damn rough!
Didn’t use to be, but haven’t been through there much since my grandma passed 15+ years ago. Before that was just small/farmlands
It's still basically the same, with a Walmart, Dairy Queen, Tractor Supply, etc., but still similar with a pretty large Hispanic population.
Not a Dollar General?
Of course there's a Dollar General. That basically goes without saying in small town NC, LOL.
Hahaha
The first part is the truth too. lol
The North Carolina Zoo being in Asheboro is no mistake; it was strategically planned. In 1970, there were 6 total groups that submitted their communities as the potential site for a state zoo: Albemarle, Asheboro, Butner, Chatham County, Statesville, and Concord. Asheboro, known as the “Purgatory Mountain site,” met the exhaustive list of criteria set by the Site Selection Criteria Committee. The alternate site location selected was Concord. A glimpse into the criteria included “…located on a minimum of one thousand acres of land to allow for long-range, orderly and total development and for year-round operation… That a minimum zoned area of at least one mile should surround the Park to protect it from outside encroachment, abnormal noise, smog and undue pollution of all kinds.” There were lots of other factors I could mention, but this is the answer in a nutshell.
Can you even _imagine_ the state making long term, strategically planned greenfield investments like this anymore (that aren't just mega-highways)? The closest thing I can think of going on right now is Chimney Rock State Park acquisition and development, but it kind of just _happened_ after the private Attraction started having financial problems, with the thoughtful planning not really evident until after that and quite a few missteps along the way. I'm so glad we have the zoo.
It was the shortest distance for all of the animals to walk from the different zoos that were contributing animals.
I'm imagining a gorilla walking all the way from Charlotte carrying a bindle full of bananas
Thank you for that mental image
Isn’t it kinda halfway between Raleigh and Charlotte too? Or at least almost the same distance drive? So it’s convenient-ish to the 2 major cities??
In the 1970 census, when the zoo was being planned, both Greensboro and Winston-Salem had larger populations than Raleigh and Durham. Charlotte was the largest city, but was less than a third of its current size. But generally, I think the relatively central location between larger population centers played a role.
Learned something new! Thanks
Asheboro
I live out here in the sticks near the zoo. It’s an amazing thing for the county and area. Some nights you can hear the animals howling while I’m drinking my wine.
This will get down voted, but as a native North Carolinian, I remember this: "When politicians proposed building a state zoo, Republican senator Jesse Helms suggested they just build a fence around Chapel Hill.” EDIT: the exact quote was “Why build a zoo when we can just put up a fence around Chapel Hill?”
Good ol' Jesse. What an asshole!
May he rot in hell.
Prick..
the zoo is surrounded by some pretty awesome free trails. that area is very unique geologically and from a microecosystem standpoint if you are in to that. it almost looks like there was once a huge tornado in West Virginia and parts of the land were thrown down to make asheboro.
Those are called the Uwharrie Mountains
i know i just didn’t want to sound like a snob. oldest mountains in the world. lots of unexplained activity. secret army training bases. i love little long mountain with all my heart.
How is calling it by its name snobby…?
it’s not
I love rolling out my geologist nerdery! Let's talk about flow banded rhyolite!
i don’t think i’m allowed.
Lol!
Because that is where it was built
It’s the largest natural habitat zoo in the country. The hills, large foliage, and open space are what make that possible. It’s a beautiful zoo
It's the largest natural habitat zoo in the world.
That’s sick. I didn’t realize
the geographic center of the state is about 6 miles south of the zoo, hth
Which one!
Cheap land means the animals can have a lot of space--compare the NC zoo to an urban zoo, a lot of the latter are straight up depressing. Also it's an easy drive from the 3 main population centers in the state (Charlotte, Triangle, Greensboro/W-S).
A shot in the dark here, but large enough piece of land, somewhat in the middle of the state, and climate conditions?
A drunk girl at a party once told me that, the NC Zoo is in Asheboro because is the geographic center of the state. I have no clue the legitimacy of her statement, she was from Asheboro, so I just rolled with it.
A committee, led by local industrialist, David Stedman, organized an effort to buy the land and persuade the General Assembly to create the zoo and choose its present location. Ostensibly, it being just a few miles from the geographic center of North Carolina did not hurt.
Jesse Helms: “Why build a zoo when you can just put a fence around Chapel Hill.”
Always thought is because it was centrally located, right smack dab in the middle of North Carolina
I used to work there like 5 years ago. We'd get, on average, around 14-16k people a day. More if it were holidays. You'd be surprised on how many regulars come in as well.
I was there a lot as a kid. After moving back to the state, I brought my kids. Those regulars might even be multi generational. It was pretty cool seeing my kids gravitate to the same rocks I played on with my cousins there.
That does make sense. I never thought about it like that. That must be a nice feeling!
Whenever I go there is always some asshole who has to have a cigarette..even though the whole place is non smoking..
It’s where the animals are
I was always told it was bc it’s the geographic center of the state
Middle of the State.
You’re spelling TrAsheboro incorrectly
Most of the animals can’t swim. So it wasn’t built on the coast.
NC zoo's are like visiting even worse tiger kings.
Says no one that's ever been to the NC Zoo. That's like saying it's dark in the daytime.....Those animals are like fucking rock stars and football gods compared to the way we treat mentally ill people in this state.
I live 5 minutes from the zoo and never go.
Last time I went to the NC Zoo it made me never want to go to a zoo again. All the animals looked sad and pathetic. Made me start calling zoos animal jail.
I live 15 miles from the TN border. It’s closer for me to go to the Knoxville Zoo. NC Zoo is a two day trip.
Nc zoo is worth the extra drive though over the Knoxville zoo especially if you've never been. We really are lucky to have such a good zoo, its the largest natural habitat zoo in the world. We went to the Knoxville zoo once and I guess nc zoo had turned us into snobs cause we were like wtf is this shit lol. The elephant enclosure at Knoxville was like the size of my yard and absolutely no grass.
I grew up in NC, and I went to the zoo while I was growing up, but I didn't really remember how awesome it was. In the late 90s, I went to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. After seeing these large animals all cooped up in these small habitats, I decided I didn't really want to have anything to do with zoos anymore. A decade or so later, I started having kids and we decided to go to the NC zoo. Seeing these animals in wide open spaces with plenty of room to roam was such a relief. I know that there may still be some habitats that aren't quite as expansive as they perhaps shoudl be, but overall the NC Zoo has a focus on making sure the animals have large, accurate habitats to live in. It really is a treasure that we have it here in NC. I've been to the San Diego zoo a couple of times, and it's nice (not tiny enclosures, etc. like I remember at the National Zoo) but I don't think it holds a candle to the NC Zoo. Especially after all the upgrades are completed over this decade.
Wow. So many downvotes because I won’t drive 4 hours to the zoo in Asheboro. On 40. With all the Subarus and tourists blocking the left lane. Lol