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Woody La Plante occupies a place in the history of the Toledo Zoo. At the age of 19, he worked as an Artist for
the WPA, painting murals and backdrops at The Toledo Zoo. Fifty-five years
later, he was contacted by Zoo officials to see if he would again consider
lending his artistic talents to the Zoo.
Many of the original murals were destroyed in the 1970's when the decision
was made to scrape the walls and paint over them, although a few murals did
survive. Mr. La Plante was hired to restore many of those old murals. He
was also asked to paint new backdrops in the reptile and aviary
habitats as part of the 50th anniversary of WPA work at the zoo.
Each animal is carefully researched so that the indigenous flora and fauna of
their native habitat are replictaed. The murals were funded by a grant
awarded by the Arts Council of Greater Toledo and the Ohio Arts Council. |