Audubon Nature Institute

[3] In 1866, it was the activation site for the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the "Buffalo Soldiers," whose defense of the United States' western frontier made an indelible mark on America's African-American heritage.

Olmsted's family firm had risen to prominence for its design of New York City's Central Park, and New Orleanians soon watched their own scenic retreat materialize from Louisiana swamp land.

When the Depression of the 1930s shut down private donations, the city's hope for a zoo was kept alive by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Blasted by the media as an animal "ghetto" in 1958 and urged to "clean up or close up" by the Humane Society of the United States in 1970, the Zoo—now called Audubon Zoo—begged recovery.

[3] In 1972 the Commission spearheaded passage of a special referendum which generated nearly $2 million in bonds to finance the beginning of the Zoo's restoration.

In the next decade, the Aquarium expanded into a new wing housing a theater and a Changing Exhibits Gallery, while Woldenberg Park also extended its borders.

The 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused substantial physical destruction,[4] wiping out all Audubon operating revenues and forcing the layoff of nearly 600 employees.