Crandon Park Zoo

Matheson Hammock Park

The land Crandon Park occupies was once part of the largest coconut plantation in the United States, operated by William John Matheson and his heirs. In 1930, Matheson gifted 80 acres to Dade County. He wanted the land to be used as the first county park in Dade County “to preserve the wild and natural beauty.” It grew with further donations by the Matheson heirs, purchases by county commissioner Charles Crandon, and other contributions to its current 630 acres. The park was administered by the county’s first director of public parks, A. D. Barnes, and designed by the landscape architect William Lyman Phillips.

Crandon Park

In 1940, his children donated 808.8 acres of land to Dade County to establish a public park. In exchange, county commissioner Charles H. Crandon pledged to construct a causeway to Key Biscayne. Although World War II delayed the project due to shortages of materials and labor, the causeway was eventually completed and opened in 1947. He played a key role in establishing the county park system, with Crandon Park named in his honor.

He also advocated for the creation of the county’s health department. A dedicated supporter of the arts, he was active in the Miami Civic Music Association from 1936 and sponsored the construction of the Dade County Auditorium. Known for his unique hobby of raising earthworms, he was deeply interested in gardening and maintained an avocado grove at his home on Red Road. Following his retirement from the commission, he served as president of the Fairchild Tropical Garden’s Board.

Crandon Park Zoo

In 1948, a traveling road show stranded near Miami exchanged three monkeys, a goat, and two black bears for truck repairs totaling approximately $270. These six animals became the foundation of the Crandon Park Zoo, established in Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, just southeast of downtown Miami.

Initially covering 48 acres, the zoo expanded with the addition of lions, an elephant, and a rhinoceros left behind by a bankrupt circus in Miami. More animals, including Galapagos tortoises, monkeys, and pheasants, were later acquired from the Matheson plantation.

The idyllic tropical zoo would not escape controversy, though. In 1956, there were talks about removing the concrete animal enclosures to be replaced with a moat that would separate guests from the animals. This plan was never implemented at Crandon Park Zoo. Beginning in 1960, The Miami News ran a series of articles alleging animal abuse and cruelty, a lack of medical care for the animals, and the concrete and steel-bar enclosures in which the animals were confined. Public opinions and attitudes were beginning to change toward how zoos should treat their animals on exhibit.

On September 8, 1965, Hurricane Betsy made landfall near Key Largo, submerging the park in three feet of water. Numerous animals drowned locked in their concrete and steel enclosures, while larger animals panicked, resulting in their deaths. By the time the storm had passed over, 250 animals were dead.

Despite significant losses, Crandon Park Zoo continued to thrive. In 1967, with more than 1,200 animals, Crandon Park Zoo was considered one of the top 25 zoos in the country. A white Bengal tiger joined the collection in 1968, the second brought into the United States. In 1970, the zoo acquired the rarest of its inhabitants: a pair of Indian rhinos. That same year, the first key deer ever removed from the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge was placed on display. Then, in 1973, two bald eagles were hatched in captivity, marking the first instance of successful hatching anywhere in nearly fifty years.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, discussions began about establishing a new zoo located more inland that would eliminate the concrete enclosures. However, it wasn’t until December 11, 1970, that county officials formally applied for 600 acres of land at the former Naval Air Station Richmond. Construction began in 1975, and Miami MetroZoo officially opened on July 4, 1980.

The Miami MetroZoo would be one of the first free-range zoos in the United States. Animals were no longer kept in cages, and as a symbol of that commitment, guests at the zoo’s opening were given a gift of small pieces of steel bars cut from the animal cages at Crandon Park Zoo. These were called “Pieces of the Past.” Closed upon the opening of Miami MetroZoo, the former Crandon Park Zoo is now a botanical garden where visitors can roam among lush tropical vegetation. Some of the old cages remain as a reminder of its past.

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