A news story from Phil Raschke for Lakewood Historical Society.
UPDATE – Sept. 16, 2021: This event has been postponed to Sept. 25.
In conjunction with the City of Lakewood’s 25th Anniversary Celebration set for Saturday, Sept. 18, the Lakewood History Museum is honored to announce the grand opening of its new “Ivan the Gorilla”exhibit.
The exhibit was co-curated by Earl Borgert, Director of the Ivan Foundation, Chris Erlich, and the Lakewood History Museum.
The new exhibit will feature a standup, life-size image of Ivan, great for photo opportunities plus some ofIvan’s original artwork. There will also be memorabilia from his early days at the Lakewood B & I ShoppingCenter where he lived from 1967 to 1994. Additionally, there will be a timeline with photographs detailing the major events in Ivan’s life.
In 1994 Ivan was moved from the B & I to much larger, better equipped living quarters at Zoo Atlanta where he became a well known, celebrity artist. Ivan remained at Zoo Atlanta until his passing in 2012 at age 50.
During the grand opening, t-shirts, post cards and copies of Ivan’s distinctive artwork will be available for purchase.
Grand Opening hours will be 2 to 8 pm on Saturday, Sep 18 and then during normal museum hours eachFriday and Saturday from noon to 4 pm.
The Lakewood History Museum is located at 6114 Motor Ave SW in the Lakewood Colonial Plaza. For more information call 253-588-6354.
Ivan is looking forward to your visit!
I have a photo album of Ivan when two of the local surgeons and me assisting ,removed some of his teeth and even did a root canal. Twice I was in his cage and it was quite an experience. I was fascinated by the fact that Ivan’s mouth construction as well as finger nails were so human like. I am in England at the moment and wont be back in the US until next year so I will certainly come by to see your museum.
Wishing you all great success.
Maureen. Arnold.
I remember going to see Ivan before 1967…when I was young…(early 60s) where was that,I thought it was the B& I.
It was with great sadness when I would enter B&I and see this wonderfully spectacular creature living in a dull, empty, concrete box. He was clearly traumatized by his captivity and was routinely terrorized by visitors who antagonized him by banging on the glass. This is not a good news story.
What a joke. Someone trying to make money off this poor gorillas shameful pathetic life in prison. RIP Ivan…you are in a far better place. You were given a horrible life here.