View of Gay's Lion Farm located in El Monte, looking at the front entrance from the left side of the building. Signs advertise "The Farm Extraordinary", "85 African Lions, all ages and sizes", "Furry baby lions now on view", and "Open to visitors except Mondays". A tower with a grass roof and wooden ladder resting against it is visible on the right of the building, as well as a huge lion statue below that. Founders Charles and Muriel Gay opened Gay's Lion Farm in 1925 on a five-acre farm. They built a U-shaped compound, a public attraction dedicated to the breeding, training and exhibition of African lions with separate cages for each adult cat, a nursery, and a central caged arena where Mr. Gay performed spectacular wild animal acts with his trained animals for masses of spectators. Sadly, the farm closed in December 1942 when wartime rationing made it impossible to get the ton of daily meat required for the lions, which, in turn were loaned out to zoos around the country. By the time the war had ended, Charles Gay's health had begun to fail and he was unable to reclaim his cats or continue with the farm, which never reopened. Today, the only trace of this historic El Monte attraction is the majestic statue of a giant African lion, which has been relocated to the present grounds of El Monte High School.
Gay's Lion Farm (El Monte, Calif.) Captive wild animals--California--El Monte Signs and signboards--California--El Monte Statues--California--El Monte Towers--California--El Monte Lions El Monte (Calif.)
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