Rainey Memorial Gates
Encyclopedia
Rainey Memorial Gates is a historic entrance gate
located at the New York Zoological Park
in The Bronx, New York, New York
. It was built in 1934 and constructed of sculpted bronze
in the Art Deco style. It was designed by noted sculptor Paul Manship
(1885–1966), who worked on them starting in 1926. It stands as a memorial to noted big game hunter Paul James Rainey (1877–1923). The gates feature stylized animal and plant life including the figure of a seated lion
. Low bronze screens flank the gate and connect it to the granite gatekeepers lodges. The gates are topped by 26 ton slabs of granite
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1972.
Gate
A gate is a point of entry to a space enclosed by walls, or a moderately sized opening in a fence. Gates may prevent or control entry or exit, or they may be merely decorative. Other terms for gate include yett and port...
located at the New York Zoological Park
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
in The Bronx, New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was built in 1934 and constructed of sculpted bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
in the Art Deco style. It was designed by noted sculptor Paul Manship
Paul Manship
Paul Howard Manship was an American sculptor.-Life:Manship began his art studies at the St. Paul School of Art in Minnesota. From there he moved to Philadelphia and continued his education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts...
(1885–1966), who worked on them starting in 1926. It stands as a memorial to noted big game hunter Paul James Rainey (1877–1923). The gates feature stylized animal and plant life including the figure of a seated lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
. Low bronze screens flank the gate and connect it to the granite gatekeepers lodges. The gates are topped by 26 ton slabs of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1972.