Los Angeles Alligator Farm
1906 postcard from the Los Angeles Alligator Farm | |
| Location | Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°04′07″N 118°12′07″W / 34.0685°N 118.2020°W |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | 1907 |
| Closed | 1984 |
| Owner | Joe Campbell |
| Theme | Animal theme park |
The Los Angeles Alligator Farm was an alligator farm and a major city tourist attraction from 1907 until 1953. It was located next door to the Los Angeles Ostrich Farm in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.[1]
History
Originally situated across from Lincoln Park, at 3627 Mission Road,[2] it moved to Buena Park, California in 1953, where it was renamed the California Alligator Farm.
The Buena Park location was a “two-acre, junglelike park” across from Knott’s Berry Farm. Circa 1974, it housed “more than a hundred species representing all five orders of reptiles, with an emphasis on crocodilians.” Alligator and snake shows were held daily in summer and weekly in the off-season.[3]
In 1951, it was reported there were 2000 alligators at the farm.[4] For the 1967 film, The Happiest Millionaire, the farm loaned Disney Studios 12 alligators that were featured in the film.[5]
The attraction was shut down in 1984 after attendance dropped below 50,000 people annually, and the animals were relocated to a private estate in Florida.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ Wild, Wolfgang (2021). "The most frightening zoo in American history". considerable.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021.
- ^ Earnest, Francis V. "Alligator Farm, Mission Road, Los Angele". California State Library (photographs). Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ Braasch, Barbara (1974). Sunset Travel Guide to Southern California. Menlo Park, Calif.: Lane Publishing Co. p. 58. SBN 376-06754-3.
- ^ Points of Interest (October 12, 1951). "About Columbus, Land, Indians And Alligators". The Tidings. p. 32.
- ^ Maschal, Richard (June 7, 1968). "Pulpit and Movies Mix". The Journal Herald. p. 49.
- ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (August 3, 1997). "Reptile Farm Gave L.A. a Wild Time". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ California Department of Fish and Wildlife (November 2, 2018). "Alligator farm not viable business choice". Record Searchlight. p. 4B.