THE BALLOON MAN

Gay's Lion Farm

Uploaded by nancybody on Feb 6, 2009

As El Monte celebrates Centennial, locals recall wild history with Gay's Lion Farm

 

Lion monument recognizing the former landmark of Gay's Lion Farm at the corner of Peck Road and Valley Blvd in El Monte on Friday, March 23, 2012. Gay's Lion Farm was a breeding and entertainment facility that drew people from all over the country and the world to El Monte. (SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda) 
By Maritza Velazquez, SGVN 
from: sgvtribune.com
03/25/2012
EL MONTE - Perhaps it's the freeway overpass, the McDonald's or the noise and traffic congestion at Peck Road and Valley Boulevard that makes it so difficult to imagine what once was.


But there are many who still remember.


In the early 1900s, a lion tamer and his wife called a 5-acre site near that intersection their home. And they shared that home with more than 200 African lions.


Together they lived at Gay's Lion Farm - a tourist attraction that brought the city international fame and more than 2 million visitors.


As the city, incorporated Nov. 18, 1912, honors its 100th birthday this year, Gay's Lion Farm stands out as a highlight in El Monte's rich history.


"I've lived in El Monte all my life and we would hear those things roaring," said Donna Crippen, 82, curator of El Monte Historical Museum curator. "If we were good, we could go out there on weekends."


The dream to own lions began during Charles Gay's childhood, when a circus magician told him to rub his head and make a wish.


He longed to own a lion.
read more at:
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_20252674/el-monte-celebrates-centennial-locals-recall-wild-history