It is also, erroneously known as Parque Confraternidad, the name of the public park located there prior to its construction that partially served as the location of Barranco Zoo (Spanish: Zoológico de Barranco), the district's zoo from 1947 until its closure in 1970, when its animals were moved to the Parque de las Leyendas in San Miguel.

[5] At least two elephants were purchased from a circus by the district's municipality to form part of the zoo's collection: in 1959, it acquired six-year-old Mary Jumbo from the "Tropicana" circus at the Plaza Dos de Mayo—who refused to board a truck and walked from the historic centre of Lima towards the zoo[6]—and in 1962 another elephant walked the same path, alongside a camel, and two lions, a puma and a siberian bear known as "Chaplin" who rode a bicycle as part of its performances.

[7] The aforementioned six-ton Mary Jumbo became well known for her calmness when being photographed alongside young visitors, as did a giant turtle originally from the exhibit at the Parque Neptuno.

[5] By the time it closed on May 15, 1970,[7] its number of unique specimens had been reduced to around 250,[5] with all of them moving to the Parque de las Leyendas, inaugurated in 1964.

[11][12] In 2009, a modernised athletic track was inaugurated as part of Peru's bid to host the 2015 Pan American Games[13][14] due to a design error at the renovated National Stadium.