In 1959, an extremely valuable, 60-year-old Senegal date palm was left to the Zoo from the Henry B. Clark estate in Ocean Beach. The Zoo staff was thrilled, especially the Horticulture Department. But now they had to get it from Ocean Beach to the Zoo—no easy task, since the multi-trunked tree (15 trunks) weighed some 26 tons and was 40 feet wide. It took several weeks to plan the move, including Dr. Charlie Schroeder using his persuasive powers to convince the city to turn off the electricity along the route as they moved the tree. The endeavor began at 3 a.m., and it took four hours of negotiating primary, secondary, and house-service electrical and telephone wires on neighborhood streets just to get out of Point Loma. All along the way, linemen from the telephone and power and light companies disengaged and then reconnected overhead wires as the truck inched the tree along. Harbor Drive was a breeze in comparison, except for a few traffic signals that had to be temporarily disconnected. Then the procession made it through the Fifth and Broadway intersection (seen in this photo), which the San Diego Police Department helped keep clear, before turning north on 12th Street and finally on to the Zoo. In the end, the Zoo paid a $2,500 moving bill to bring the palm to its new home. But it was worth it—it was considered one of the most beautiful specimens of this palm species in the world.