Abandoned Miami
The Crandon Park Zoo Remains
January 2, 2021
South of Miami Beach on Key Biscayne is Crandon Park, a wonderful place to spend the day. With a glorious beach more chill than Miami Beach, the park offered scenic views of the many wind surfers channeling the strong gusts. But that was just part of the draw. Also on the park grounds is the abandoned remains of The Crandon Park Zoo, in operation from the 1950’s through the 1970’s.
The Crandon Park Zoo was once a “major” zoo in the country. Then Hurricane Betsy hit the area in 1965. It was devastating. 250 of the 1,000 zoo animals, trapped in their cages, drowned when the hurricane hit. The zoo struggled after that. Now the former structures lay about the park, though one structure was fenced, slated to become a petting zoo. 😑
To follow are some sites–and some old pictures of how the zoo used to look.
