Celebrating 70 years of animal magic!

11:59am Wednesday 23rd May 2007

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A ZOO without bars: the most modern in Europe'.

This was the boast at the opening of Dudley Zoo to much fanfare on May 18, 1937.

The Broadway site officially swung open its doors 70 years ago amid chaotic scenes which saw 250,000 people turned away amid public safety fears.

Built in the grounds of Castle Hill, a crowd of 50,445 people were the fortunate ones to see the site first.

Entry on the day was 1s for adults and 6d for children.

The project proved one of the first and main tasks of the Dudley Zoological Society which was founded in 1935.

The Earl of Dudley, owner of the castle and grounds, and Mr A.E Marsh, fellow founders of the society, were on hand to see their project reach fruition on opening day.

All of the original animals came from Oxford Zoo and although work on Dudley Zoo was not finished, the decision was made to open in time for the Whitsun holiday and King George VI's Coronation.

By 1950 the zoo had become a runaway success and was now housing 800 animals of 175 different species and also featured an aquarium.

Russian-born architect Berthold Lubetkin was handed the task of designing the building, including 13 remaining structures on the site which are now listed.

Many of the animal enclosures like the lion enclosure were blended into the natural features of Castle Hill.

The town's landscape may have changed with key buildings replaced but the zoo still remains a leading landmark in Dudley.

Fast forward to the present and the zoo is marking its 70th birthday this year with a host of re-developments, concerts and new exhibits.

Dudley's Castle Hill and Zoo will have a £38.7m makeover and the zoo will be expanded to include a tropical dome and walkthrough aviaries.

Monkey Tails, a walkthrough rainforest, was officially opened last month.

Opera superstar Katherine Jenkins will also help mark the milestone birthday by performing at the site on Sunday June 9.

A special birthday ceremony was held at the site on Friday May 18 which saw 80-year-old Muriel Thatcher, who attended the 1937 opening day, cut a special commemorative cake.

After the celebrations are over, chief executive Peter Suddock believes the site looks forward to bright future.

He said: "These are very exciting times for us.

"There's a lot of history to celebrate and also a fantastic future mapping out a massive £10m revamp scheduled to start later this year."

For more information go to www.dudleyzoo.org.uk