Believe it or not, the Central Park Zoo was the first public zoo to open in the United States. I imagined it would've been larger in that case. I always thought the Bronx opened before (but wasn't the first in the country).
The New York Aquarium has always been run by NYZS/WCS, but it was originally located in the historic Battery Fort building at the southern tip of Manhattan. It was moved to it's current Coney Island location in the late 1950s, to allow construction of the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel below its previous location. There have been several proposals to build a new aquarium in various locations in Manhattan, but nothing has come of any of them. It will be interesting to see how the City and WCS move ahead with the huge and fully-funded plan to expand and improve the Aquarium following the disasterous flooding from Sandy.
I would assume they want to move it further inland so something like this is less likely to happen again. I wonder what's to become of the new shark exhibit they plan on opening? I would love to see its completion.
I would assume they want to move it further inland so something like this is less likely to happen again. I wonder what's to become of the new shark exhibit they plan on opening? I would love to see its completion.
It will not move, I am almost certain. To build a major aquarium is vastly expensive and in NYC even more so.
The City has financially backed the new shark expansion in part to re-vitalize Coney Island. They will not fund a move. What killed the other plans reduakari refered to was real estate costs and construction costs.
I do expect the the Shark expansion will be re-designed a bit (again!) due to this and other infrastructure changes will be brought about.
It will not move, I am almost certain. To build a major aquarium is vastly expensive and in NYC even more so.
The City has financially backed the new shark expansion in part to re-vitalize Coney Island. They will not fund a move. What killed the other plans reduakari refered to was real estate costs and construction costs.
I do expect the the Shark expansion will be re-designed a bit (again!) due to this and other infrastructure changes will be brought about.
What's important is that all (well most as some fish did die) of the animals made it through safe and sound. The WCS has released anything new on the subject of how the aquarium is doing. We've donated $100 to the effort and hopefully others have as well.
What's important is that all (well most as some fish did die) of the animals made it through safe and sound. The WCS has released anything new on the subject of how the aquarium is doing. We've donated $100 to the effort and hopefully others have as well.
There was a very interesting radio interview with the aquarium director, Jon Dohlin, ten days ago. I had hoped it was on line so I could post it but I've been unable to find it. He talked in detail about the aftermath of Sandy, the fish that were at risk, the measures the staff took, the discussions about moving the collection, etc.
It is difficult not to judge Philadelphia as America's first zoo, and that would be my choice over Central Park. On a side note, I have lots of literature on zoo and aquarium history but why is Vernon Kisling's 2000 book so darn expensive? The lowest price that I can find is $116 U.S., and is it honestly worth that much money?
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Aquarium-History-Collections-Zoological/dp/084932100X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1353191124&sr=8-3&keywords=vernon+kisling]Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections To Zoological Gardens: Vernon N. Kisling: 9780849321009: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
It is difficult not to judge Philadelphia as America's first zoo, and that would be my choice over Central Park. On a side note, I have lots of literature on zoo and aquarium history but why is Vernon Kisling's 2000 book so darn expensive? The lowest price that I can find is $116 U.S., and is it honestly worth that much money?
It is difficult not to judge Philadelphia as America's first zoo, and that would be my choice over Central Park. On a side note, I have lots of literature on zoo and aquarium history but why is Vernon Kisling's 2000 book so darn expensive? The lowest price that I can find is $116 U.S., and is it honestly worth that much money?
@Chlidonias: thanks for the link, but even at $87 (plus shipping) it is extremely expensive. I have many thick, hardcover zoo history books that I've often paid up to about $40 for, but anything beyond that makes for a tough decision. About once a year I order a shipment of about a dozen zoo/aquarium related books from Amazon but Kisling's book never seems to come down in price. The download intrigues me but I'm not sure I'll ever really embrace "downloadable books".
@Chlidonias: thanks for the link, but even at $87 (plus shipping) it is extremely expensive. I have many thick, hardcover zoo history books that I've often paid up to about $40 for, but anything beyond that makes for a tough decision. About once a year I order a shipment of about a dozen zoo/aquarium related books from Amazon but Kisling's book never seems to come down in price. The download intrigues me but I'm not sure I'll ever really embrace "downloadable books".
