Detroit Zoo's water tower getting anniversary makeover with 'surprise' design

The 150-foot water tower at the Detroit Zoo is being repainted, and the new, temporary design — which the zoo is planning to add and have up by late July or early August — is supposed to be "a surprise."

The zoo said it is not revealing what it looks like until it goes up.

The only clue: The design is aimed celebrating the zoo's 95th anniversary in the suburbs.

The zoo also isn't saying how much the paint job and temporary design — which is expected to be a vinyl wrap, a larger version of what some people cover their cars with — is costing, either. It did, however, offer a brief history and photos through the years of tower, which was built by the city of Royal Oak in 1928.

The 1.5-million-gallon water tower initially provided water pressure to what was then the north Woodward area, and by 1932, the tower identified the city and zoo, with "Royal Oak," in large letters, and underneath, "Detroit Zoological Park."

A failed valve in the water tower rendered it obsolete in 1984, but instead of tearing it down, the structure was left up to help visitors find the zoo. In the nearly 40 years since, it has become a landmark and kind of a billboard for the zoo.

Cageless exhibits and elephant rides

Opened the same year as the water tower, the zoo was a instantly popular. On Aug. 1, a crowd of 150,000 people flocked to see it, according to the Detroit Historical Society. Visitors paid a nickel to ride Paulina, the elephant, and the lion cubs were the zoo's most popular animals.

In one account of its official opening day ceremonies, the zoo — more specifically the Acting Mayor John Nagel — almost got into a dangerous scrape with Morris, a polar bear. Nagel, the story goes, was set to speak. He arrived late. He parked his car near the bear exhibits, and one lunged at him.

The unflappable politician remarked: "He's the reception committee."

More zoo history: Historic photos showcase decades of Detroit Zoo water tower designs

More: Detroit Zoo's posh Sunset at the Zoo benefit set for Friday

The zoo's anniversary date, however, is likely to be questioned by some, who will argue that the Detroit Zoo actually started in 1883 as the Detroit Zoological Garden. It was in a building across the street from what would become Tiger Stadium.

Luther Beecher, a Detroiter, bought animals from a traveling circus that had gone broke. But Beecher's venture didn't last long. In about a year, the zoo also went broke, with some of the animals going to Belle Isle, where there's still a nature center.

Prominent Detroiters then organized the Detroit Zoological Society in 1911 and began planning for what the historical society called "a world-class zoo." It bought the property off Woodward Avenue near 10 Mile, where it is now, and hired famed zoo designer Heinrich Hagenbeck, of Germany, to create a "cageless environment" for the animals.

His plan: Use moats design to keep the animals at bay from the visitors, and put them in natural-looking habitats.

Since then, the zoo — and its water tower design — has gone through many changes, with new animals arriving and a few leaving.

Tower and the 'critter parade'

In 1985, a year after the water tower stopped working, the "Royal Oak" on it had been replaced with an arrow and the words "one block," pointing to the zoo.

A year later, the tower's design got a significant upgrade: "Detroit Zoological Park" was shortened to "Detroit Zoo." Silhouettes of animals, including an elephant, monkey, and alligator were added, along with then-Detroit Mayor Coleman Young's name.

By 2002, the tower got an even more sophisticated look, as if animals were circling the tower, it has been informally called a "critter parade," and more recently, that design inspired a fashion collection.

The zoo in 2005 made national headlines for sending its beloved elephants, Wanda and Winky, to an animal sanctuary in California. The pachyderms suffered from arthritis. They needed more space to roam, and a warmer climate. Winky died in 2008, Wanda in 2015.

A year later, the city of Detroit turned over operations to the nonprofit Detroit Zoological Society.

In 2012, the water tower got a new coat of paint and new wrap. By then, the zoo said, the graphic was beginning to look a bit ragged, with it peeling in places. It reportedly cost $200,000. The new look also updated the critter parade, replacing the elephant, which could no longer be found at the zoo, with a rhino.

The zoo said the new water tower design is expected to stay up through the winter until next spring.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Zoo's water tower getting makeover with 'surprise' design