Belle Isle Aquarium
 In 2005, the 101-year-old Belle Isle Aquarium was the oldest operating aquarium in the United States. |
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| Date opened | August 18, 1904 [1] |
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| Date closed | April 3, 2005 [1] |
| Location | Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Coordinates | 42°20′11.79″N 82°59′7.27″W / 42.3366083°N 82.9853528°WCoordinates: 42°20′11.79″N 82°59′7.27″W / 42.3366083°N 82.9853528°W |
| Number of animals | 1500 [2] |
| Number of species | 146 [2] |
| Total volume of tanks | 32,000 U.S. gal (120,000 L; 27,000 imp gal) [3] |
| Annual visitors | 113,000 (1995), 56,000 (2004) [4] |
| Website | http://belleisleaquarium.com/ |
The Belle Isle Aquarium, located on Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, was the oldest continually-operating aquarium in North America. Designed by noted architect Albert Kahn, it opened on August 18, 1904 and closed April 3, 2005 [.[2] The 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) aquarium featured a single large gallery with an arched-ceiling that was completely covered with green glass tile to evoke an underwater feeling in visitors.[1][5]
The aquarium was operated by the Detroit Zoological Society, which also runs the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Zoo.
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[edit] History
The aquarium basement served as a speakeasy during Prohibition and later held large fish which no longer fit the Belle Isle Zoo's gallery tanks. Closed circuit television allowed remote viewing of these fish. The aquarium was slightly remodeled in the 1950s.
Attendance was on a declining trend in its final decade: 113,000 visitors toured the aquarium in 1995 and only 56,000 in 2004.[4]
On 14 January 2005, the city of Detroit announced that the aquarium would be closed to save $530,000 annually, with the staff being reassigned to the Detroit Zoo or the Belle Isle Zoo, and the fish transferred to other aquariums.[3] It was originally scheduled to close on March 1.[6] Although an extension was granted to the Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium to come up with a fund raising plan,[7] the aquarium was closed on April 3, 2005.[4]
[edit] Animals
When it was open, the aquarium had 60 exhibits with a total tank volume of 32,000 U.S. gallons (120,000 L; 27,000 imp gal),[3] and was home to over 1,500 fish of 146 species.[2] The aquarium largely featured freshwater species native to the Great Lakes region, but also had salt-water species from around the world.
The aquarium made news in 2002 when one of its female white-spotted bamboo sharks gave birth to two young despite not having been near a male in six years in a suspected rare case of parthenogenesis.[8]
[edit] Conservation
The Belle Isle Aquarium participated in breeding programs for several endangered species.
[edit] The future
On August 3, 2005, Detroit citizens voted to reopen the aquarium by an overwhelming margin (88% in favor, 12% opposed).[9] However, the vote was non-binding and the aquarium remains closed. As of 2010, supporters of the aquarium are still trying to find donors to help defray the building's operating costs[9] while the city is still planning a new modern aquarium to be located elsewhere.
Although the building has been closed since 2005, Goldfish and Koi from an outside pond are housed in the aquarium during the winter.[9] In February the aquarium is opened for a day for the annual "Shiver on the River,"[9] a fund raising event to promote public support of Belle Isle non-profit groups including the Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium.[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c "History". belleisleaquarium.com. Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080314113943/http://www.belleisleaquarium.com/aq_hist.html. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Belle Isle Aquarium". detroitarmy.com. Detroit Army. http://www.detroitarmy.com/2009/02/belle-isle-aquarium.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "City To Close 100-Year-Old Belle Isle Aquarium". clickondetroit.com. Click On Detroit. 14 January 2005. http://www.clicondetroit.com/news/4085223/detail.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "It's Official! City Says Belle Isle Aquarium Will Close". clickondetroit.com. Click On Detroit. 4 March 2005. http://www.clickondetroit.com/community/4253421/detail.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ "Palmer Woods Resolution". belleisleaquarium.com. Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium. http://www.belleisleaquarium.com/events/2005/palmer_woods_resolution_020905.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Supporters Fight To Keep Belle Isle Aquarium Afloat". clickondetroit.com. Click On Detroit. 21 February 2005. http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4217083/detail.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ "Belle Isle Aquarium Keeps Doors Open, For Now". clickondetroit.com. Click On Detroit. 23 February 2005. http://www.clickondetroit.com/community/4224614/detail.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ Mayell, Hillary (26 September 2002). "Shark Gives "Virgin Birth" in Detroit". nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0925_020925_virginshark.html. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium". belleisleaquarium.com. Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium. http://belleisleaquarium.com/. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Belle Isle Aquarium |
- Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium
- Friends of Belle Isle
- inside the Belle Isle Aquarium at Detroiturbex.com
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