Riverbanks Zoological Park and Botanical Garden
A History of Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is one of the most successful mid-sized zoos in the
United States. Since opening in April 1974, Riverbanks has won a number of awards for exhibit design, breeding programs and marketing efforts. Riverbanks attracts more than
850,000 visitors each year and has a non-profit support society of more than 30,000 memberships – amazing statistics for a zoo located in a city with a metropolitan population of less than 700,000.
In the early 1960s, a group of local businessmen initiated the concept of a small community zoo. Known as the Columbia Zoo, the proposed facility was designed exclusively as a children’s zoo with a nursery rhyme theme. Funding restraints and other problems doomed the initial effort, but the concept of a zoo for the Midlands of
South Carolina persisted.
In 1969 the South Carolina General Assembly created the Rich-Lex Riverbanks
Park Special Purpose District, the legal and governing authority for what was to ultimately become Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The seven-member Riverbanks Park
Commission was established as the district’s governing authority.
By creating Riverbanks as a Special Purpose District, the state legislature significantly expanded the Zoo’s support base. Richland and Lexington counties joined the city of Columbia as full partners in the burgeoning Riverbanks project. Each of the three political entities appointed two members to the Commission, with the seventh appointed at-large. Approximately 100 acres of land on both sides of the Lower Saluda
River and just outside of the city proper were leased to the commission by South
Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) for 99 years at $1.00 per year.
Following five years of planning and construction, Riverbanks finally opened to the public on April 25, 1974. Notable features of the original Zoo design were the mountainous, moated exhibits for cats and bears (these remain a part of the Zoo's
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is one of the most successful mid-sized zoos in the
United States. Since opening in April 1974, Riverbanks has won a number of awards for exhibit design, breeding programs and marketing efforts. Riverbanks attracts more than
850,000 visitors each year and has a non-profit support society of more than 30,000 memberships – amazing statistics for a zoo located in a city with a metropolitan population of less than 700,000.
In the early 1960s, a group of local businessmen initiated the concept of a small community zoo. Known as the Columbia Zoo, the proposed facility was designed exclusively as a children’s zoo with a nursery rhyme theme. Funding restraints and other problems doomed the initial effort, but the concept of a zoo for the Midlands of
South Carolina persisted.
In 1969 the South Carolina General Assembly created the Rich-Lex Riverbanks
Park Special Purpose District, the legal and governing authority for what was to ultimately become Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The seven-member Riverbanks Park
Commission was established as the district’s governing authority.
By creating Riverbanks as a Special Purpose District, the state legislature significantly expanded the Zoo’s support base. Richland and Lexington counties joined the city of Columbia as full partners in the burgeoning Riverbanks project. Each of the three political entities appointed two members to the Commission, with the seventh appointed at-large. Approximately 100 acres of land on both sides of the Lower Saluda
River and just outside of the city proper were leased to the commission by South
Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) for 99 years at $1.00 per year.
Following five years of planning and construction, Riverbanks finally opened to the public on April 25, 1974. Notable features of the original Zoo design were the mountainous, moated exhibits for cats and bears (these remain a part of the Zoo's