Elmwood Zoo Shuts Down Through February

NORRISTOWN, PA — Norristown's Elmwood Park Zoo is shut down through the end of February as construction gets underway on the new state-of-the art animal hospital and expansion announced late in 2022.

The construction is needed to "safely demolish" the existing building and entrance to the zoo, officials said. A new temporary entrance will be built away from the construction zone before the zoo reopens in March, though details on precisely where have not yet been released.

While guests will be able to return to the zoo in March, the new hospital and welcome center won't be fully complete for about two years.

"The zoo aims to complete the project in 2024 to coincide with its 100th anniversary," the zoo said this week.

Guests with a yearly membership will receive an extra two months of benefits due to the closure.

Historic donation

Elmwood received the anonymous $30 million anonymous donation it labeled "landmark" in late October.

The hospital will feature several exam rooms, treatmetn centers, quarantine facilities, recovery wards, giant glass viewing bays for guests to see the hospital's daily work, and much more.

"This donation comes at a crucial moment for the zoo," Al Zone, Elmwood's executive director and CEO, said in a statement. "On the verge of our 100th anniversary, this gift allows us to extend our exceptional veterinary care to an increasing number of species, and it provides us with a means to build an entrance that can accommodate the large number of guests who visit us each year."

The viewing bays and public access to the zoo will provide visitors with an in-depth look at medical procedures, as well as diet preparations and other intricacies of care. The hospital will be over 17,000 square feet, making it "one of the largest and most advanced exotic animal care facilities" in America, the zoo said.

The welcome center, which will be attached to the hospital, will feature ticket windows, a gift shop, educational displays, offices, and meeting spaces.

The donor was identified by the zoo only as a local entrepreneur with "strong ties" to Norristown.

“It (the donation) was made as an effort for other Montgomery County philanthropists to follow (my) lead and get involved," he said, noting that he wanted to support the zoo's larger $150 million master plan to renovate the grounds through a series of projects. Zone further described the hospital as the most important part of that master plan.