Zoo Park is a public park on Independence Avenue

Independence Avenue (Windhoek)

In Windhoek, Namibia, Independence Avenue runs through the heart of downtown and is "easily explored by foot". Prior to independence, the street was known as Kaiserstrasse.-Notable buildings and parks on Independence Avenue:...

 in downtown Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

, Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

. It is also a focal point of social life in the city The current park is landscaped and features a pond, children's playground and open-air theatre.

Pre-history

The remains of an elephant from between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago were uncovered in 1961, making the elephant kill there one of the earliest known such events in human history.

Colonial

The area then known as Schutztruppe Memorial was designated by the German colonial authorities

German colonial empire

The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884...

 in what was then German South West Africa in 1897. It was created to honor the German soldiers who died in the war against Namaqua leader Hendrik Witbooi

Hendrik Witbooi (Namaqua chief)

Hendrik Witbooi was a king of the Namaqua people, a sub-tribe of the Khoikhoi. He lived in present day Namibia. His face is portrayed on the obverse of all Namibian dollar banknotes.-Names:...

. The land was transferred to local control in 1911, when it was expanded. Cafe Zoo, which is still in operation, opened in 1916 after the coming of South African military control. From 1960 to 1963, the park was reshaped to accommodate the widening of modern Independence Avenue and Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 St. (then Kaiser Strasse and Peter Műeller Strasse). In 1967, the park was renamed in honor of Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd , commonly identified as H.F. Verwoerd, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 until his assassination in 1966...

, the architect of Apartheid. In February 1989, with independence and majority rule just 13 months away, the park was renamed to its current title.

Independence

In August 2006, a suggestion by the group Africawise Namibia suggested the park be renamed in honor of Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...

.