I loved Going to the B & I Just to “See Ivan the Gorilla.”

My earliest memories of Ivan are from the late 1970s (I was born in 1974).

I loved going to the B & I just to “see Ivan the Gorilla.” Never seemed odd to me at that age that a gorilla lived in a shopping center.

I remember watching him swing on the tires, walk up the viewing windows to see who was visiting that day, and walking around his enclosure.
A trip to that part of town was not complete until we’d stopped by to see Ivan. We’d visit the pet store, play in the video arcade, try to beat the chicken at tic-tac-toe, but the only real reason we came was to see Ivan.

When I was in the Navy, my mom used to mail me news clippings from The News Tribune about Ivan’s move to Zoo Atlanta, as well as the updates that were printed regarding his progress there.

I remember when he passed…was sad to hear the news, but also happy to know that he was still so much a part of Tacoma’s history. I also remember that just a few weeks prior, JP Patches had also passed away. Seemed like my childhood was “officially” over with those two events.

Matt O