Jungleland USA
Jungleland USA | |
---|---|
Date opened | 1926 |
Date closed | October 1969 |
Land area | 170 acres (69 ha) |
Jungleland USA was a private zoo, animal training facility, and animal theme park in Thousand Oaks, California, United States, on the current site of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.[1] At its peak the facility encompassed 170 acres (69 ha).[2]
Louis Goebel created Jungleland in 1926 as a support facility for
Many TV and movie productions used the park's trained animals, and many productions were filmed there,
The park made headlines in 1966 when a male lion at the compound named Sammy mauled Zoltán Hargitay, the young son of actors Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield.[6] A barn fire in 1940 killed 12 of the animals including tigers, camels and elephants.[7]
Jungleland closed in October 1969, because of competition from other Southern California amusement parks, and because the facility "didn't blend in" with the increasingly urban character of Thousand Oaks. The company which owned the facilities declared bankruptcy and sold all the movable property at auction: animals, buildings, trucks, furniture and supplies.[4] Goebel retained ownership of the land, which was eventually sold to the city to create the Civic Arts Plaza and other developments.
See also
References
- ^ "Thousand Oaks: Council to Consider Bids on Jungleland". Los Angeles Times. May 19, 1992. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ a b c "Jungleland of Thousand Oaks". stagecoachmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Louis Goebel (obituary)". AP, cited by the Toledo Blade. April 2, 1981. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Curtain to fall on Jungleland". AP, cited by The Free Lance-Star. October 7, 1969. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "Ventura County's Micky Dolenz talks about The Monkees new tour". Ventura County Star. November 8, 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "Lion Mauls Actress' Son". AP, cited by the Eugene Register-Guardian. November 27, 1966. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "Spectacular blaze kills movie animals". AP, cited by The Palm Beach Post. July 11, 1940. Retrieved 1 December 2012.