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It sounds as though the stereotype only holds true for some of the oldest zoos in the country. I had never considered younger zoos.
There have been animal exhibits since the 1880s in the area of Audubon Zoo in NOLA and it was opened in 1914. The neighborhood has always been prestigious though.
The Detroit Zoo isn't even in Detroit. It's two miles north of the city border and located in the suburb of Huntington Woods, which is considered a middle-class to upper-middle class neighborhood.
From what I can tell all zoos across America are in, next to, or not far from, a ghetto somewhere. I am looking for exceptions to the rule. Also, if anyone knows this, would like to know why so many zoos are built in the ghetto. One theory I have is that zoos predate suburbia, and that they are built in some of the oldest parts of a city.
SF's zoo is also in a nice, non-ghetto area. Though the corner of the Sunset District that the zoo is next to does have a little grittiness and blight, interestingly enough (as in: an empty lot, a couple of abandoned/boarded up/tagged up buildings, a cheap old motel, and a parking lot that's crumbling into the ocean due to erosion). But it's not like that plays into the OP's weird theory of all zoos being in the ghetto. That small area may be kind of ugly, but it's still middle class and quiet. And the other sides of the SF zoo are a picturesque upper-middle class area, a picturesque lake/park, and the pacific ocean (and a sewage treatment plant, but it's actually nicely hidden among the undeveloped ocean-side hills/trees in that corner of SF).
The St Louis Zoo is surrounded by good neighborhoods on all four sides. In fact, the neighborhoods on three sides are comprised of mansions and high-rent condos.
The Atlanta Zoo is in an alright part of town(Grant Park) but the ghetto isn't very far away. The Federal Pen is a little over a mile away and that area is pretty rough. The area to the west(Summer Hill) closer to Turner Field isn't all that great either.
I think Grant Park used to be pretty ghetto until the 90's. It's full of gigantic restored Victorian homes now.
The Memphis Zoo is in the corner of a 300+ acre virgin forest right in the middle of the city, with the closest homes being fine old Midtown mansions. It has a historic performance shell theatre and a noted art gallery on property.
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