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Circa 1906. "Great flying bird cage, zoo park, Washington, D.C." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The new flying cage for aquatic birds in the ravine near the Connecticut avenue entrance will prove one of the most interesting features of the Zoo. It is fifty feet in length, of corresponding height, and has a miniature lake its entire length. It contains fifty-five fine specimens of aquatic birds, from the big marabou heron, four feet in height, to the little heron of twelve inches. Cormorants, snake-darters, pelicans, great blue herons, European storks, and other water birds make a lively scene.
-- Washington Post, Nov. 23, 1902
It’ll never get off the ground.
Seems like a small space for so many birds.
I didn't see the woman until I clicked on the photo to enlarge. That thing was huge! And it's about time someone covered 'em with Saran Wrap instead of doped cotton canvas.
It does call to mind a dirigible hangar, like this one at Moffett Field south of San Francisco.
At what hours did they make it fly?
Both beautiful and tragic. Do you know why the caged bird sings?
Cover it, add hydrogen, cut the base loose ... you have a Zepplin! Dream on.
[Similar to a Zeppelin? - Dave]
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