Montreal Aquarium
| Montreal Aquarium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date opened | 1967 |
| Date closed | 1991 |
| Location | St. Helen's Island, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
The Montreal Aquarium, also known as the Alcan Aquarium, was a public aquarium on St. Helen's Island, in the La Ronde amusement park located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built and opened in 1967 for Expo 67 and shut down in 1991.
The Expo pavilion was originally sponsored by Alcan Aluminum Ltd., who built the site as a joint venture with the City of Montreal and the Zoological Society of Montreal. The main aquarium featured penguin pools, exhibits space and a gift shop. The separate dolphin pool had a 900-seat auditorium, show pool and holding tanks. The pavilion complex was reduced in size when its main aquarium building was demolished. It reopened as the Nintendo Mégadôme from 1995 to 2006.
History
Montreal Aquadome (1967–1991)
In February 1980, blue-collar workers enacted a 41-day workers' strike, refusing to enter the aquarium to feed or care for its dolphins. Abandoned by their trainers, and left to starve in isolation, 3 dolphins died as a result of the neglect.[1] The surviving dolphins were sold to Flipper's Sea School, a roadside dolphin attraction in Florida. The already failing aquarium received even more negative publicity.
The city planned in 1988 to move the aquarium to a more popular location at the Old Port, but the plan did not come through when the city was mired in recession in the early 1990s.
On September 15, 1991, the aquarium officially closed. Most of its exhibits were transferred to the Biodome. The site of the former aquarium now belongs to the amusement park La Ronde. The dolphin pool is now vacant and closed off from the public.
Nintendo Mégadôme (1995–2006)
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
The Nintendo Mégadôme opened inside the former aquarium space in 1995.[2] It was a Nintendo-sponsored video game centre with the then latest Nintendo video games and attractions. Although left vacant since, on occasion, the space has been used for La Ronde's Halloween themed Fright Night as a haunted area.
References
- ^ Dr François Lubrina. "La fin pitoyable et tragique des dauphins de Montréal" (in French). Vetérinet. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
- ^ spacemtfan (June 10, 2016). "The Vampire of Montreal: Part 18 of the Inverted Coaster Serie". ParkVault. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
External links
- Nintendo Mégadôme (in English)
- Photo and floor plan (linked)
