May 18, 1958

By Keith Thursby

Times staff writer

Baseball stadium or zoo?

OK, that wasn’t quite the choice for Los Angeles voters when they went to the polls June 3 to vote on Proposition B. But both were mentioned in a Times editorial endorsing the Dodgers’ contract with the city.

The editorial was timely, coming on the heels of a two-day legislative session on the Dodger deal. And as for the zoo reference, here’s part of a paragraph deep in the unsigned editorial. You’ll notice the voter is referred to as "he," another reminder that this is from 1958:

“He can vote for Proposition B with a much clearer fiscal conscience than he could vote for a zoo, because the zoo would continue to be a charge on all taxpayers, including those in the outlying districts. A zoo is a good thing to have — and we shall have one — but a baseball yard is just as good in its own way and it will never cost the taxpayers anything for maintenance.”

According to the Los Angeles Zoo’s website, the city’s first zoo opened in 1885. The current zoo opened in 1966.

keith.thursby@latimes.com