Stone Zoo Entrance A Welcome Sight

Maybe the best vantage point for Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Stone Zoo entrance was a few yards away in the old entrance building.

Building? Maybe that's being kind.

"Our old booth was really a temporary fix when it was first decided to put it over there," said Joe Gresci, Stone's Director of Guest Experience. "So essentially that's really a glorified shed that we renovated to be a ticket booth."

Gresci can speak to the improvement because he's been at the Zoo since his senior year at Stoneham High School. After graduating in 1997 he attended Suffolk and Bunker Hill Community College before he returned to the zoo to work fulltime, an experience that now includes his added title as Stone Zoo's Site Manager. If the Zookeepers take care of the animals, Gresci and his staff take care of the people.

"I joke, we deal with the other animals," said Gresci, now a 20-year Stone veteran who still lives in Stoneham.

As the ceremony went on, guests ducked behind the speakers to buy tickets in the new-and-improved ticket booth. The days of waiting in line at the two windows of the old booth have been replaced by four windows in a new building. When you want to see animals, you don't want to wait in line.

"It's one of the major challenges we face is processing as many guests as possible in a short period of time, while also offering the best customer experience," said Gresci.

There were plenty of those "other animals" at the Stone ceremony. John Linehan, President and CEO of Zoo New England, took center stage.

"This is a very exciting day for the Stone Zoo," said Linehan. "Today we are celebrating much needed improvements at Stone Zoo."

And when he mentioned among the improvements the "wonderful new restrooms," the applause was the loudest of the day. Zoo veterans understand why.

"The Stone Zoo will be one of the finest small zoos in this country," Linehan said of the 26-acre zoo that first opened in 1905. "We are continually transforming Stone Zoo and it hasn't been easy. There's a lot more ahead."

The new Animal Discovery Center (ADC) was also part of the ceremony, a building that had been home to elephants years ago and most recently was the gift shop, now houses a living honey bee hive, exhibits that reflect the conservation mission of the zoo, and classroom space.

"Science learning is brought to life for kids," said Linehan of the ADC.

State Senator Jason Lewis was on hand and called the zoo, "a wonderful place for children and families." And State Representative Michael Day recalled his days growing up in Woburn and said he had been visiting the zoo since the 1970s. "I'm looking forward to bringing my kids, and even my grandchildren, in years to come."

After the speeches, Linehan joined with Day, Lewis, and a group of Stone Zoo campers to cut the bright green ribbon. The entrance way with the new ticket booth, the Animal Discovery Center, and the new gift shop were open for business.

Photos by Bob Holmes. Individual photos of Stone Zoo's Joe Gresci, State Senator Jason Lewis, and State Representative Michael Day.