Aug. 26--As superintendent of plant engineering, buildings and grounds at Brookfield Zoo during the early 1980s, James Riley was instrumental in the creation of Tropic World -- the first fully indoor rain forest simulation and the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world.
Housed within a building the size of 11/2 football fields, Tropic World draws about 2.2 million visitors annually. It's made up of three separate exhibits, each replicating a rain forest in Asia, South America and Africa, and includes waterfalls, plant life, man-made cliffs, rocks and vines, and hundreds of exotic mammals and birds.
"He was involved in that project from beginning to end," said George Rabb, Brookfield Zoo's emeritus director and its director from 1976 to 2003.
Riley worked closely with architects and contractors in designing the maintenance facilities within the building, which was completed in 1984 at a cost of $10.8 million.
"His input made a real difference," Rabb said. "And all the while this was happening, Jim was also in charge of the day-to-day supervision of more than half the zoo's workforce."
Riley, 87, a longtime Glenview resident, died Aug. 18 at Glenview Terrace, a nursing home facility in Glenview, of complications related to a recent fall, family members said
"He loved the zoo -- walking it, working with the people, and, of course, all the animals," said his son, Jim. "He felt he had one of the most interesting jobs imaginable."
Riley, a father of four, also was quick to spring into action during zoo emergencies. Like the time a heating unit broke in a feed facility and he wound up bringing home tanks filled with thousands of chirping crickets -- to the delight of his young children, Jim recalled. Or when he drove the family station wagon to the airport during a bad storm to pick up a couple of young primates and delivered them to the zoo.
"It was a crate of monkeys that left a really pungent scent in our car," his son recalled. "I remember it well because it lingered for days."
Riley also played a key role in the construction of a railroad system of passenger trains in the late 1960s that at one time encircled the zoo on 21/4 miles of track.
"Getting those trains up and running was a huge undertaking, but he handled the pressure well," Rabb said. "He had a great mix of skill, knowledge and being a very personable individual to work with."
The trains, although no longer in operation, were equipped with standard railroad air brakes and powered by both gasoline and steam engines, and featured rail personnel who wore authentic railroad garb.
"Because this equipment is the real thing, we decided we needed experienced people to run and maintain it," Riley told the Tribune in 1968, just prior to the railroad's opening. "So we thought we would try to find retired railroad men. Boy, we've really gotten a response from them!"
Born and raised in Chicago, Riley was a graduate of St. George High School. He grew up learning about electronics from his father, who owned a boiler business.
At age 17, he enlisted at in the Merchant Marine and was assigned to ships transporting troops and war materials across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, Jim said. He later saw combat serving in the Army as a sergeant with the 5th Infantry Regiment in the Korean War.
In the mid-1950s, Riley worked for several years as an engineer in the Tribune Tower's boiler room before landing his superintendent job at the zoo. He left the zoo after the completion of Tropic World and went to work for the Chicago Housing Authority. There, he was responsible for the maintenance of power plants at public housing projects throughout the city, until retiring at age 65.
"His time at the CHA was very rewarding, much like everything else he did," his son said. "He'd tell us as kids, 'Approach your life with faith, courage and enthusiasm, and you can't go wrong.'"
Other survivors include his wife of 65 years, Rita; daughters, Jerilynn Steele, Christine McNally and Coleen Michols; a sister, Frances Deppe; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Sept. 4 at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 5, at St. Isaac Jogues Church, 8149 W. Golf Road , in Niles.
Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
