Peter Pan Park’s Monkey Island has a captivating history, and it was detailed in the latest installment of Saturdays at the Site at Red Rocks.
Local storyteller Roger Heineken went through different key points, including its inception in the early 1930s.
Emporia’s Monkey Island was one of numerous similar projects in American cities big and small that were funded and built by the Civil Works Administration during the Great Depression, and it was actually one of two programs under the CWA umbrella for the park — the other being the amphitheater. The federal program was shut down shortly after funding was approved for Emporia’s Monkey Island. Heineken says laborers received 40 cents per hour as part of the Depression-era federal stimulus program.
Rhesus monkeys, native to Asia, were housed on the island. The monkeys generally grew to two feet tall at the most and generally live 20-30 years. The monkeys — usually around six at a time — stayed at the stone house until the 1970s, when some started using nearby trees to escape. The island was also exposed to the public at all times, making it a target for vandals and potential incidents of cruelty towards the monkeys. The timing of the monkey’s increasing escapes, combined with their physical condition and age, care conditions not up to contemporary zoo standards and an increased emphasis on what’s now the David Traylor Zoo, caused several people to suggest flattening the monkey house. The house was shuttered but remained standing.
Earlier this year, Rick Eubank gained City Commission approval to restore the monkey house at his expense, including a new laser-cut sign and new drawings of monkeys in the windows.
Because of its history, Monkey Island is the namesake of the Dynamic Discs Monkey Island Open, typically held in late March.
Saturdays at the Site concludes on Aug. 27. Before that presentation, the William Allen White Community Partnership has a trivia night fundraiser from 6-8 pm Wednesday evening at Mulready’s Pub. Shari Scribner will have more details on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia at 11:06 am Tuesday.
