For nearly 55 years, guests visiting Busch Gardens Tampa could enjoy presentations at the Bird Show Amphitheater featuring trained behaviors from colorful birds and other animals.
Fast Facts:
Official Open Date: June 1, 1959
Close Date: February 16, 2014
Location: Bird Gardens
Replaced By: Coke Canopy
Also Known As: Bird Circus Theatre, Bird Show Theater, Bird Gardens Theatre/Theater, Garden Theater
History
While construction on the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and surrounding gardens was underway in 1958, Richard Naegeli transferred to Tampa from the company’s Grants Farms in St. Louis to become the lead bird curator at the new park. While not having any previous experience training birds, Naegeli had worked with other animals at the farm and credited his interest to his Boy Scout days.
The Bird Show Amphitheater opened with the park on June 1, 1959, featuring 200 seats in several sections surrounding the open-air stage. Birds featured in the first shows included macaws, toucans, cockatoos, rosellas, lorikeets, finches, a pair of eagles, and others. Some behaviors performed included birds going down a sliding board, playing dead, sliding down a wire, and pulling a small cart.
One of the birds performing in the early years was Betty, a blue macaw, who showed off such trained behaviors as grabbing a peanut from inside Naegeli’s open mouth, and “Flight for Life” where the bird slid down a 50-foot wire using its beak or feet. In one newspaper interview in 1960, Naegeli said he hadn’t been bitten on the tongue but did have a few scars on his fingers where birds took a nip over the last two years during their training and performances.
As of October 1960, 25-minute shows were presented four times each operating day (Monday through Saturday) at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4 p.m. In a 1962 article, the venue was described as having seating for 250 visitors and featuring trained bird shows four times daily.
A 1970 brochure listed the venue as Bird Show Amphitheater with Bird Show, featuring “highly trained and brilliantly colored macaws and cockatoos” in several shows daily. Guests could meet some of the birds at the Posing Area just outside the theater between performances. A dark room for changing film in cameras was also located nearby for guests who found themselves coming to the end of the roll while snapping their photos.
The venue was known by a variety of names throughout its lifetime in maps, brochures, and advertising. In the mid-1970s, the venue was listed as Bird Circus Theatre and Bird Show Amphitheatre in Bird Gardens, with live bird shows throughout the day. It was known later as Bird Show Theater, Bird Gardens Theater, and simply Garden Theater.
Shows with birds and other animals continued for over five decades. Critter Castaways was the last presentation in the theater, with the final performance on February 16, 2014.
Additional details on the Bird Show Amphitheater may be added in the future.
Sources:
Park Brochure – 1970 (Author’s Collection)
Park Maps – 1974 – 2013 (Author’s Collection)
Tampa Times | Mar 30 1959
Tampa Tribune | May 31 1959
Tampa Tribune | Jun 12 1960
St. Petersburg Times | Oct 19 1960
Orlando Sentinel | Feb 4 1962
Tampa Tribune | Jan 22 2014
Last update: March 22, 2025