April 26, 2024
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Ivan the Gorilla Exhibit Now Open!

by Phil Raschke
Oct 04, 2021

In conjunction with the City of Lakewood’s 25th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, September 25th, the Lakewood History Museum had the grand opening of its new “Ivan the Gorilla”® exhibit, co-curated by Earl Borgert, Director of the Ivan Foundation, Chris Erlich, and the Lakewood Historical Society.

The new exhibit features a standup, life-size image of Ivan (great for photo opportunities) plus some of Ivan’s original artwork. There's also memorabilia from his early days at the Lakewood B & I Shopping Center where he lived from 1967 to 1994, and a timeline with photographs detailing the major events in Ivan’s life.

In 1994 Ivan was moved from the B & I to much larger, better equipped living quarters at Zoo Atlanta where he became a well known celebrity artist. Ivan remained at Zoo Atlanta until his passing in 2012 at age 50.

T-shirts, postcards and copies of Ivan’s distinctive artwork are available for purchase at the museum during normal museum hours each Friday and Saturday from noon to 4 pm.

The Lakewood History Museum is located at 6114 Motor Ave SW in the Lakewood Colonial Plaza. For more information call 253-588-6354.

Ivan is looking forward to your visit!


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