Eagles, Group of Eight
Eight identical statues of eagles are placed throughout the courtyard of the Central Park Zoo. The carved granite birds once decorated a bridge in Brooklyn.
While there are many sculptures of animals included in the original design of the Zoo, these eagles were added later. They were made by the sculpture and stone carving company Rochette and Parzini for a bridge on Brooklyn’s Shore Drive. The bridge was demolished in 1941 when the Belt Parkway was constructed, but the City’s Monuments Department saved the Eagles. How they came to be in the Zoo is unclear, but the eight sculptures are a seamless addition to the collection of animal artworks in this area of the Park.