Bear pit at Riverside Park and other bygone animal attractions

<table border="0" width="667" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center" width="667"> <p><a href="https://hoosierhistorylive.org/"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/HHL-generic-newsletter-banner-higher-res.JPG" alt="Hoosier History Live banner" width="737" height= "164" /></a></p> <p>Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m. ET on WICR 88.7 FM.<br /> Or stream audio live from <em>anywhere</em> on <a href= "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Diamond-WICR-887-s29521/"><strong>WICR Online</strong></a>!<br /> You can listen to recent shows by clicking the podcast links below, or check out our <a href= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/mail/index.html"><strong>extensive archive of past shows available as podcasts</strong></a>.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align="center">April 17, 2021</p> <h2 align="center">Bear pit at Riverside Park and other bygone animal attractions</h2> <p align="center"><strong><em><a href= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/audio/2021-04-17-Bear-pits-at-Riverside-Park.mp3"> Click here to listen to the podcast</a></em>.</strong></p> <div align="ce nter"> <div align="center"> <p align="center"> </p> </div> </div> <p dir="ltr">Bears at <strong><a href= "https://www.visitindy.com/indianapolis-riverside-park">Riverside Park</a></strong> in <strong>Indianapolis</strong>? Not for the last century. But for nearly two decades beginning in 1899, a <strong><a href= "https://historicindianapolis.com/penny-post-the-riverside-bear-pit/">bear pit</a></strong> was among the most popular attractions at the park near the <strong><a href= "https://hoosierhistorylive.org/audio/2019-07-13-White-River-History.mp3">White River</a></strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Ed-Fujawa-2020.JPG" alt="" width="247" height="322" align="right" />Consisting of a fenced, circular pen with two arched doorways that allowed the bears to enter a sheltered den, the bear pit at Riverside was featured on thousands of postcards that have become collectibles.</p> <p dir="ltr">And t