The National Zoological Park was planned by F.L. Olmstead & Co.,
one of the most influential and prolific American landscape
architectural firms in history, and its location in the spacious
and picturesque Rock Creek Valley marked an important departure
from the 19th-century practice of confining zoological
collections to limited areas. In addition to its important place
in the history of landscape design, major scientific
investigations, such as S.P. Langley's experiments in
aerodynamics, are also a significant part of the Zoo's history.
The National Zoo preceded the founding of the New York
Zoological Park and Munich's Hellabrun Zoo, and thus may have
been the first major zoo to be located in a spacious, landscaped
setting. The Zoological Park's primary aim was not for the
entertainment of people, but for the preservation of endangered
animals indigenous to the United States. The Zoo was created at
a time when American's were concerned about "the closing of the
frontier" and the dominance of a new, urban, i