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The whimsical children's zoo in Central Park will close forever Sunday, its fairy castle, Noah's Ark, giant whale and 10-cent admission charge leveled into oblivion.
Last year the Parks Department had its chief architect, George Olsen, design a plan for a year-long, $2-million reconstruction of the existing petting zoo, which is located northwest of the main Central Park Zoo. That project, which would have retained the fantasy architecture theme, was abandoned after objections from the New York Zoological Society, Parks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum said recently.
Instead, the society has hired prominent architect James Polshek to design a state-of-the-art Enchanted Forest with waterfalls, hidden buildings and accessible exhibits of small animals.
City officials estimate it will cost about $20 million to build the privately funded Enchanted Forest, and much of the needed money is still to be raised. The $80,000 design, paid for by the Lehman family, which financed the original zoo, will be ready in May, Polshek said. There is no date set yet for breaking ground on the project, said Richard Lattice, the Zoological Society zoo director. Construction is expected to take about two years.
Even if completed, it's not clear the new...