Birmingham Photo of the Day (53): Students at the Zoo in 1968

The photograph below was taken in May 1968 by John McDavid. Six students from Minnie Holman School are posing in front of a fence at the Birmingham Zoo. Behind them is a giraffe surveying the scene; further in the background at the lower left is a camel.

Minnie Holman School, located in what is now the Crestwood North area, opened in 1928 and was demolished in the early 1990's. Minnie Holman became the second wife of John Phillips in 1898; he was a longtime early Superintendent of Birmingham City Schools. The former Phillips High School was named after him. You can see many photos from the school's history here.

Photos, scrapbooks and other materials related to the history of the Birmingham Zoo can be found here. The Zoo opened in 1955.

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections