Inside of Griffith Park just north of Los Angeles, CA is where you will find an abandoned zoo. The zoo started in 1912 and was used all the way until 1965 when they moved the zoo two miles away.
This zoo is unlike any recent zoo you’ve been to. There are no long windy paths that lead you around to different shelters or a gate you walk through. There are just a handful of habitats and that’s it. However, what truly attracted me to this place were the photos I was of the graffiti on the inside.
The Photos
How to get there
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There are a lot of different ways at which you could get here. But the easiest is if you park your car in the the triangle pull-out area right off of Griffith Park Drive northeast of the zoo. The small parking lot will stretch back behind to the west closer to the zoo. If you go all the way to the end of the lot, you will find a set of stairs that will lead you up to the Old Abandoned Zoo. The enclosures will be on the far side.
Once you get to the enclosures, you will be able to climb around in them and see that there are gates inside that lead you up a set of stairs with a lot of graffiti. But, you can’t open those gates and you’ll have to go around the back. Follow the path going west (up) and you’ll see what looks like an old service road for the zoo with a gate. This goes back up behind the zoo and you’ll find the fences have been cut so that you can climb into the enclosures from above. That’s when it’s really cool!
If I were you – make sure you take a wide-angle lens with you cause otherwise you’ll be “too close to the action”. It will seem like there isn’t much to photograph, but be creative and you’ll find some great shots of this place!
If you follow Griffith Park Drive further, you will come across the Travel Town Museum that is free to enter and has a lot of old steam engine trains. Click Here to learn more about this place.