Franklin Park Zoo

Designed in the 19th century by the progenitor of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, Franklin Park is the jewel of Boston’s Emerald Necklace. The Franklin Park Zoo opened in 1912; the 72-acre property is home to numerous endangered animal species and now a newly recognized arboretum. While guests naturally often focus on the animals in our care, the zoo has a rich history of arboriculture and horticulture as well.

Originally planned as a countryside, naturalistic oak forest, the zoo has molded and influenced its grounds alongside its animal residents. With a keen eye, one notices trees that complement the architecture and the animal habitats. The berm around the Giraffe Savannah is dotted with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), a close relative and lookalike of the Acacia trees that Masai giraffe browse on in the wild. Kousa dogwoods, Japanese maples, hardy rubber trees, raisin trees, and more surround the east Asian-inspired Bird’s World building. Special garden collections such as the Ericaceous collection have recently been developed, including many species and cultivars of Rhododendron, Calluna, Erica, Leucothoe, Vaccinium, Kalmia, and Pieris.

Some of the more interesting species of trees at the Franklin Park Zoo include the Chinese Wingnuts (Pterocarya stenoptera), a member of the walnut family common in Chinese gardens that can be found on the main road outside Bird’s World and the Tropical Forest. A Korean Mountain Ash (Alniaria alnifolia) can be found near the gift shop of the zoo, another rare tree in American gardens. There are a handful of hybrid chestnut donated to the zoo by the American Chestnut Society as well. The main road by the front entrance of the zoo has a row of elms (Ulmus rubra) that were originally planted by Frederick Law Olmsted as part of the original Greeting of Franklin Park.