Cypress Circle

Central Concessions Becomes
Cypress Circle

The Houston Zoo’s mid-century landmark, the Central Concessions building at Duck Lake has gotten a make over!

Cypress Circle – a Houston Zoo History

Cypress Circle began as simply the Concessions Building at the Houston Zoo. The then-space age design was collaboration between New Orleans-born architect Irving R. Klein and Kansas City landscape architects Hare and Hare.

Hare and Hare were commissioned by the City of Houston in 1947 to prepare plans for the expansion of the Zoo. The $800,000 expansion program included the Reflection Pool, sidewalks with concrete canopies, a primate exhibit and the Concessions Building. The “new” Zoo opened in 1950. The primate exhibit was demolished in the late ‘90s to make way for Wortham World of Primates, but the Reflection Pool and the Concessions Building remain, connecting generations of Houstonians to fond memories of past Zoo experiences.