The Nashville Zoo over the years: Take a walk through the history of Grassmere

The Nashville Zoo has been a staple in the region for the past three decades, welcoming more than 1 million visitors each year.

It is now home to more than 3,700 animals representing more than 350 species, according to zoo. It sits on 188 acres and ranks as the ninth largest zoo in the nation by area.

Here's a look back at notable changes and developments in each of those decades and what's coming next for the zoo.

1991-2000

The zoo first opened as a small, private operation in 1991 in neighboring Cheatham County with 417 animals. By 1996, the zoo moved to the property where the historic Grassmere home was located and took on the name The Nashville Wildlife Park at Grassmere, opening in 1997 with 620 animals. The land is owned by the city but operated by the zoo's nonprofit organization.

The Grassmere home was built in 1810 by Col. Michael C. Dunn and changed hands over the years before ultimately belonging to sisters Margaret and Elise Croft. The zoo partnered with the city to restore the house in 1998. The property also includes gardens, a cabin, a smokehouse, cemeteries, a barn and the Grassmere Historic Farm, and remains open to the public to this day.

Earlier this year: Tiger cubs make public debut at Nashville Zoo

2000-2010

The zoo rapidly developed through the late 1990s into the early 2000s, adding its Jungle Gym playground, Unseen New World exhibit and Entry Village complex. It also steadily added more animals, including various reptiles, clouded leopards, hyacinth macaws, gibbons, meerkats, red pandas, lemurs, rhinoceros hornbills, elephants, giraffes and others.

It officially changed its name to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere in 2001. In 2003, it earned its first accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which it has renewed every five years since. In 2007, its parking greatly expanded after CSX donated around five acres to the zoo. In 2010, the historic Grassmere home celebrated 200 years with descendants of the Croft family in attendance.

2010-2020

The kid-sized Wilderness Express Train launched in 2011, and the zoo added cougars and kangaroos in 2012 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, the zoo received a $10 million gift from the city of Nashville and launched a major capital campaign, known as Grow Wild, that is still ongoing and has raised more than $142 million to date. Several new exhibits were added throughout the decade, including its ever-popular Tiger Crossroads in 2019.

Recent years and what's ahead

The zoo opened its Komodo dragon exhibit in 2023, which became the largest habitat for the lizards in the Americas. It also welcomed three Sumatran tiger cubs in 2023 .

In 2024, the zoo opened the lower level of its new parking garage. Once completed, it will have a two-floor covered parking and open parking on its upper level. It will also have a walkway and ramp that will run directly form the garage to the zoo entrance. The full parking structure is estimated to open over the summer and will increase overall parking by 62% once complete.

The zoo is also building a new Leopard Forest, which will feature four separate habitats that will be home to Amur leopards, colobus monkeys, De Brazza’s monkeys and a multi-species habitat with both klipspringers and rock hyraxes. It is projected to open this fall.

Learn more about the zoo, its history and how to visit at NashvilleZoo.org .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Nashville Zoo over the years: Take a walk through the history of Grassmere