Central Park’s menagerie formed gradually from the late 1850s, when the park began receiving animals as donations or loans from private individuals and entertainment entrepreneurs. That improvised collection was installed around the Central Park Arsenal and became a popular attraction within the park itself. In 1864, more stable facilities were authorized to house and organize that growing collection, consolidating the menagerie as the direct precursor of the zoo. In the 1920s it remained a very busy place, although its model of enclosures and cages was beginning to seem outdated. In 1934, as part of the city’s major parks renewal, the old menagerie was replaced by a new zoo, opened on 2 December 1934.