Selig Zoo entrance

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This view of the elaborate entrance to Zoopark captures Mission street, driveways, two arched buildings with attached colonnades flanking the central sign and sculptures, as well as a crowd of people milling around an elephant on the ground. Opened to the public on June 20, 1915, the Selig Zoo, located at 3800 N. Mission Road, also served as a film production studio for the Selig Polyscope Company, and briefly the Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation. Dramatic entrance gates featuring statues of elephants and lions were designed by Italian sculptor Carlo Romanelli, with interior structures by Arthur Burnett Benton. Selig Polyscope became insolvent in 1918, and over the years the zoo changed names and ownership. It was known as the Selig Zoo (1915-1925), Luna Park Zoo (1925-1931), L.A. Wild Animal Farms (1931-1932), the California Zoological Gardens (1932-1936), and Zoopark (1936-1940).