Bear pit

On my adventures out, I went to Headingley which is a nice bit of Leeds..
Neaby, sandwiched right between some houses, is a ruin called the Bear Pit. Its all that remains of the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens, a not very successful Victorian venture. It was built in 1840, and the bears were displayed in a circular pit on the far side of this wall. The public viewed them from the tops of the turrets, one of which has a spiral staircase.... its a tiny enclosure and I guess I should be thankful it closed!

[FaerieMoon]

I'll echo those statements--so sad for the bears. The stones and architecture in this photo are really pretty, though

[Cherrill]

Glad I don't have to get me animal welfare banner out here!! Love the sun and shadows on the stonework. Did I say sun????

[Denise]

Neat picture.

[Steve Harvey]

sweet.

[Shannon Pitton]

Sort of a zoological folly! I like the turrets, they look great in the sunlight.

[Warren]

Very neat

[peter/zipp]

..its a strange one that Bear Pit. Never sure if it was a zoological folly (@shantwin ), and how its managed to survive in such good nick. Weird.
Anyways, nice pic there!

[elkehochban]

Looks like a miniature castle! Love the stonework!

[Susan McIntyre]

Great shot. This is a very cool feature, and thanks for the history.

[momeraths]

this is a really cool find!!! great stones!

[cglist]

Wonderful architecture - nice that zoos have improved over the years!

[Constance Brinkley]

Great stone turrets. Need to find a new use for this space... too bad it has not turned into a park... Great shot.

[she devil]

love it

[Richard Tyson]

Hey I was just round the corner from here an hour after this shot!
@seattle there's no room for a park. My garden is bigger than the space here.

[Constance Brinkley]

@rich57 Wow all this frontage grander for a tiny little pit...I get the picture. Thanks

[Cynthia C.]

Beautiful pic! Love the textures and architecture.

[Michelle Sheils]

I'm surprised no one has converted this on grand designs yet :) Interesting shot and history. :)

[Brad Johnson]

What a cool structure.

[Juliette Packham]

I love it round here. great shot, like the subtle shadows