ZSL London Zoo London Zoo Aquarium
- Thread starter Ebirah766
- Start date
Sadly the aquarium is due to close this year.
Approximately one third of the aquarium (the old Tropical Hall) has already been closed, never to re-open; I believe the rest of the aquarium is scheduled to close permanently this autumn.
Why exactly is the aquarium being closed? Is it getting too expensive to run, or did the zoo decide the facility was outdated, or what?
Unfortunately the building is in a very poor state of repair and, in its current dilapidated state, it will cost an enormous amount of money to refurbish it.
There are plans, though, to exhibit some of the current marine species in the BUGS building and some of the freshwater species at Whipsnade.
Balalaika
New Member
I spotted this vague sign on my visit last weekend, placed right at the back of the Aquarium, next to the now-closed Tropical Hall (giving the impression that only the fish in there would be moving).
I didn't manage to see what has become of the space in BUGS, but I do have this photo from early December showing what it looked like then...:
...with a sign explaining that its closure is due to them creating a 'reef' exhibit (presumably the same one referred to in the first picture). The space seems awfully small for the amount of fish in the aquarium, and I'm dreading that most of them will end up being moved to Whipsnade.
(Also, on another note, I really don't like the use of informal language on these signs. It makes it look as if they aren't taking themselves seriously, but that's just me.)
I didn't manage to see what has become of the space in BUGS, but I do have this photo from early December showing what it looked like then...:
...with a sign explaining that its closure is due to them creating a 'reef' exhibit (presumably the same one referred to in the first picture). The space seems awfully small for the amount of fish in the aquarium, and I'm dreading that most of them will end up being moved to Whipsnade.
(Also, on another note, I really don't like the use of informal language on these signs. It makes it look as if they aren't taking themselves seriously, but that's just me.)
Attachments
I'm astonished that they have the nerve to put such a positive spin on the closure of the aquarium after nearly 100 years! I can see nothing positive about it and find it almost insulting that the advertising implies they are doing this through choice, not because they simply don't have the funds to renovate the aquarium !
Have to admit that I have found a lot of what ZSL says lately to be exasperatingly pretentious.
Honesty hurts nobody. Explain something properly-don’t fob us off with twaddle!
Couldn't agree more - I've been a pretty consistent defender of ZSL on these forums over the years, but the fact that they couldn't simply be honest with the Fellows, at the very least, and say something like, 'With regret, we will be significantly reducing the collection of fish held by the Society as the Aquarium building at London is no longer fit for purpose, pending funds for its restoration' is just so contemptuous.
I've complained and I suggest other Fellows and members do too. I do think we should be treated like adults with a serious interest in the Society's work and its collections, not as recipients of Twitter and Facebook ready marketing guff.
I've complained and I suggest other Fellows and members do too. I do think we should be treated like adults with a serious interest in the Society's work and its collections, not as recipients of Twitter and Facebook ready marketing guff.
I look forward to see how they’ll (eventually) deal with the issue of the Mappin Terraces, because that’s one big can they can’t keep on kicking down the road for much longer!
Balalaika
New Member
As much as I'm in support of preserving the site's historic buildings, I honestly wouldn't mind seeing the Mappins knocked to the ground. They've done nothing but take up excessive space, rot and fall apart for the past decade (at least)! London Zoo is meant to be a zoo, not some kind of architecture display - it's just infuriating that they're getting rid of animals in favor of this.
After a trip to Bristol I got really interested in exactly how London Zoo uses it's space and with the aid of a area calculator tool on Google Maps the entirety of the Mappins covers about one and a half of the worst utilised acres in the zoo. I don't know I'm a big fan of the Terraces as that big historical ZSL monument, and if they'd manage to maintain a worthy exhibit on there they'd be the highlight of the zoo but as it stands they are an appalling waste of space considering Vienna manages to keep their polar bears and elephants on a comparable footprint.
Bib Fortuna
Well-Known Member
It is very regrettable that the aquarium will be closed, but probably the building is in such poor condition that a new building would be cheaper than renovating the existing aquarium. Certainly, also security reasons for the zookeepers play a role. The aquarium was already in a desolate condition when the series "The Ark in the Park" was made, and it has not been much better since. An aquarium belongs to the London Zoo, after all, the world's first aquarium was opened here with the Fish-House, and public show aquariums generally have a long tradition in London.
I very much agree with Bib Fortuna about this. After the tropical hall closed I visited and have made a detailed account of the displays as of spring 2019 before further reductions take place pending full closure in October. Potentially this will become the basis of an article for the Bartlett Society. I love the aquarium and I wish it was remaining open but the entire ceiling is now supported by scaffolding and boards and the service passages must be in a poor state by now and some of those tanks have been in place since 1921. Architecturally, I love it (including my favourite doors anywhere) but it is sad to see the greatly reduced number of tanks and boarded up sections. The staff have got an excellent set of displays at the moment, so it is still well worth a look. Other good zoo aquariums at Bristol and Chester, for example are much smaller, so I hope they do a good job at Whipsnade but the freshwater fish should not be leaving London and as was said earlier, even Fellows have been fobbed off about this.