Avondale Zoo

The Avondale Zoo or Avondale Park Zoo was Birmingham's first public zoo exhibit, preceded only by an informal menagerie of a few native animals kept at Magnolia Park by members of Birmingham Fire Station No. 3 in the 1890s.

The first animal enclosures at Avondale Park were constructed in 1911. The zoo's star attraction, Miss Fancy the elephant, was purchased from a struggling circus in 1913 with money raised by civic promoters and a kids' penny drive. Other animals on exhibit included a bison, two cows, Dick the rattlesnake, a llama, two bears, an assortment of foxes, wolves, coyotes, raccoons and wildcats, along with monkeys, rabbits and water fowl.

A green-painted barn opening onto a fenced yard was constructed for Miss Fancy, who was tended to initially by trainer Dayton Allen and later by John Todd, who developed a close relationship with the animal.

The effects of the Great Depression led the city to shutter the zoo to save $4,600 in annual maintenance costs. The Birmingham Park Board brought the issue up in 1932 and the city began looking for parties who could take on the care of Miss Fancy, in particular. The Birmingham Board of Education declined, as did former Mayor George Ward, proprietor of the Roman-styled Vestavia estate on Shades Mountain. He told the Park Board that "Lions, tigers and elephants contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire. No elephant will have the opportunity to bring about the disintegration of my Roman empire."

Ultimately the park's exotic animals, including Miss Fancy, were sold to the Cole Brothers - Clyde Beatty Circus of Rochester, Indiana for a total of $710. Circus crews arrived on November 11, 1934 to accompany the animals to their winter quarters in Peru, Indiana. The first boxcar proved too small for Miss Fancy, and she waited by the rail siding for a larger carriage, which departed the city about 7:00 PM.

References

• Apple, Oliver (February 25, 1925) "In Spring, Miss Fancy's Fancy Lightly Turns To Thoughts Of Peanuts" Birmingham Post - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• "City to give only elephant resident nice beauty treatment, manicure and possibly extra helping of cereal as anniversary gift" (October 5, 1931) Birmingham Age-Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• "Grocery: Miss Fancy has large appetite" (November 22, 1931) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• "Avondale Zoo Facing Closing"
• Baggett, James L. (Fall 2012) "Miss Fancy, Queen of the Avondale Zoo." Alabama Heritage. No. 106, pp. 56-8