Aquafair was an

animal theme park An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed ...

and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

in, what was at the time, unincorporated

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

, near what used to be

Ojus, Florida Ojus is a census-designated place and formerly incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,642 at the 2000 census. Ojus is bordered by Aventura to the east, I-95 to the west, North Miami Beach to the s ...

, that ran from 1956 to 1961.

Owner

A man named George A. Hamid bought an eight acre tourist attraction named Tropical Panorama located at 18495

Biscayne Boulevard U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River (Florida/Georgia), St. Marys River into Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia north of Boulogne, Florida, Boulogne and south of ...

in 1956 and added a water stadium. He opened the park known as Aquafair on December 22, 1956. Sam Caponey was the manager at some point during the park's history. Hamid designed Aquafair to be a "

Steel Pier The Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long () amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly the Trump Taj Mahal). Begun in 1898, it was one of the most po ...

like winter attraction" similar to the one that he had bought in 1945. In both tourist attractions, Hamid presented a popular horse diving act.

Notable attractions

When visitors first entered the park, a baby chimp named Jay J. was there to greet them. Aquafair featured "Russ Dodson and his Diving Collegians" and Hamid's own signature diving horse act, in which a horse ridden by a young woman dives from a 40-foot concrete platform into a 12-foot tank of water. Also presented were trained porpoises, alligator wrestling, displays of flamingos, monkeys, macaws, and sea cows, and a "lion-killing baboon who dances".

Bargains and deals

In an attempt to bring in more visitors, Aquafair offered reduced admission prices several times. Every visitor under 15 years old had free admission on Saturday, January 27, 1957, a little after the park first opened. When business was declining in the latter 1950s, everyone 12 and under had free admission with their parents entering for half price on Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1, 1959. The reduced rates succeeded in bringing in more visitors, including prominent local groups.

Notable visitors

Members of Jim Dooley's Fishing Club got free admission with their parents paying half price on Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, 1957. The Crippled Children's Society had about 100 of their kids between the ages of 5 and 14 and their parents visited Aquafair on Wednesday, July 16, 1958.

Change in ownership

After being unsuccessful after its first two seasons, Aquafair was leased by

Clyde Beatty Clyde Beatty (June 10, 1903 – July 19, 1965) was a famed animal trainer, zoo owner, and circus mogul. He joined Howe's Great London Circus in 1921 as a cage boy and spent the next four decades rising to fame as one of the most famous circ ...

, a famous

animal trainer Animal training is the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for purposes such as companionship, detection, protection, and entertainment. The type of training an animal receives will vary ...

and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

performer, in 1960. He renovated the park to be more circus-themed and reopened the place under the name Clyde Beatty's Jungleland—a name similar to one of his other, successful attractions, Jungle Zoo—the same year. However, the park sold out after one year. Aquafair officially closed in 1961. Jungleland continued on until at least the mid-1960's using Clyde Beatty's name until early 1963 and as Tommy Dale's Jungleland in 1965 and 1966.

References

{{reflist Defunct amusement parks in Florida Animal theme parks