A visit to certain parts of Griffith Park is like a visit to ancient ruins, but where “ancient” refers to the middle part of the 20th century—when Los Angeles was in its most optimistic phase of growth and the television and movie industries were centered here. That LA charm and magic still remains.
Visiting the Old Zoo is kind of like that. These old structures are covered in some of the most interesting graffiti. Even random roots and rocks are decorated in a way that doesn’t seem to violate anything.
But some of the remaining cages are a bit more stark and grounding. This whole area is essentially a museum to one of humanity’s most casual cruelties.
I enjoy visiting sites like this and taking them in contemplatively. One could say this zoo is a reminder of how far we have moved forward in our humanity. This is the old style of zoo, where animals were exploited. Cities showed off their success by exhibiting hard-to-acquire exotic animals. There was little difference between the exploitation of the zoo and the circus: animals in cages for everyday entertainment.
That was the past. Today we still have zoos. And I’m sure the debates are endless about whether they continue to represent what they always did, or whether they truly are a necessary way of conserving what we have left of Earth’s wondrous diversity.
After we left, my family and I went to Highland Park for lunch, where the cool kids hang out these days. As we searched for parking, there were three of these hip twenty-somethings smoking cigarettes.
A reminder, I thought, that no matter how far forward we decide to move, we will always move backward.