The Montreal Aquarium, also known as the Alcan Aquarium (french: Aquarium de Montréal, Aquarium d'Alcan), was a
public aquarium on
St. Helen's Island,
Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1966 for
Expo 67 and shut down in 1991. It reopened as the Nintendo Mégadôme from 1995 to 2007. The Expo pavilion was originally
sponsored by
Alcan Aluminum Ltd., who built the site as a
joint venture with the
City of Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
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.
History
Montreal Aquadome (1967–1991)
After a
workers' strike
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the I ...
in February 1980, two dolphins starved to death. 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 Old Port is a name used by historic port districts in several jurisdictions.
Old Port or Oldport may refer to:
Historic port districts
* Oldport of Berlin Charter Township, Michigan, United States
* The Port, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United Stat ...
, 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 main aquarium building is now the Pass Building and the dolphin pool is vacant and closed off from the public.
Nintendo Mégadôme (1995–2007)
The Nintendo Mégadôme opened in 1995.
References
External links
Nintendo Mégadôme(in English)
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1966 establishments in Quebec
1991 disestablishments in Quebec
Aquaria in Canada
Defunct museums in Canada
Demolished buildings and structures in Montreal
Expo 67
History of Montreal
La Ronde (amusement park)
Museums established in 1966
Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
World's fair architecture in Montreal
Defunct aquaria