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In the early 1900s, Bever Park Zoo was a point of pride in Cedar Rapids. Over the years, it became home to beloved black bears, monkeys, alligators, elk and lions. Today, Bever Park is home to Old MacDonald’s Farm, a free petting zoo stocked with animals you’ll commonly find around Iowa.

One curious Iowan from Cedar Rapids wrote to Curious Iowa , a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions, wondering how the Bever Park Zoo got started and why the exotic animals were rehoused.

We spoke with local historians and dug through over a century’s worth of newspaper coverage of the Bever Park Zoo to find the answers.

When was Bever Park Zoo established? And what kinds of animals lived there?

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