San Diego Zoo Small Souvenir Plate

PACIFIC + SOUTHWEST. 
Home Decor / Kitchen Decor, Decorative Saucer, Souvenir, c. 1950s. 

Koalas, Flamingos, Kiwis, and Bears! Oh my! This colorful transferware dish touts various animals you can see on a visit to the San Diego Zoo. And it would appear from the illustration that the zoo thankfully had evolved past the kinds of outdated enclosures that were common in American zoological parks before the enactment of animal welfare statutes on both the state and federal levels. Zoos have always been a popular attraction, but in recent centuries society’s view of them has changed. People grew tired of seeing animals pacing back and forth in cement cages, and a movement toward more natural habitats began. The San Diego Zoo actually was a pioneer in the concept of open-air, cage-less environs for their animals. It was founded by Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth, a prominent local physician, who saw inhumanely caged animals at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition displayed along San Diego’s Park Boulevard. He procured many of them in 1916 when the exposition was over, and started the zoo. He planned much of the layout, convincing wealthy San Diegans to contribute to the cause. Today visitors are greeted at the zoo’s entrance by a sculpture called “Rex’s Roar” after the lion whose moving roar set Dr. Wegeforth on a quest to supply a better existence for captive animals. This little collector’s plate pays tribute to the wild animal park he envisioned, one which continued on as a leading voice for animal welfare, and which eventually became the most visited zoo in America - with international travelers citing it as the world’s best. 

Condition: Used Very Good. 
Local / Regional Attractions. 
Dimensions: 4.5" diameter x 0.5" deep