Jose Ortiz, a 50-year-old taxi driver who grew up a few blocks from the Bronx Zoo, remembers how young he was when the creatures in the Monkey House captured his imagination.

“When you see them as a kid, and you see they have five fingers and an opposable thumb just like you do, your mind starts to wander,” he said. “Your imagination starts going, and suddenly you’re in the jungle with them swinging on vines — you’re in ‘The Jungle Book.’ ”

“Those are the best memories that anyone can have,” he said.

Now memories are all that anyone can have. The zoo closed the 111-year-old Monkey House on Monday for good....