Menagerie and Aquarium
Dr. Cocker's Aquarium, Aviary and Menagerie had existed on the site since 1873. It was kept open to earn revenue while the tower building went up around it, and then became one of the tower's major attractions. The aquarium was modelled on the limestone caverns in Derbyshire. It housed 57 different species of fresh water and salt water fish and the largest tank held 32,000 litres (7,000 imp gal; 8,500 US gal) of salt water. The menagerie and aviary were regarded as one of the finest collections in the country and included lions, tigers, and polar bears.
The menagerie continued until 1973, when it was closed following the opening of Blackpool Zoo near Stanley Park. The aquarium closed in 2010 and was remodelled to make way for a new "Dungeons" attraction. This was done by the Merlin Group, which took over the operation of the Tower at the end of the 2010 season on behalf of new owners Blackpool Council.
Read more about this topic: Blackpool Tower
Famous quotes containing the words menagerie and/or aquarium:
“This universal exhibition in Canada of the tools and sinews of war reminded me of the keeper of a menagerie showing his animals’ claws. It was the English leopard showing his claws.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“one is in a shoe factory cursing the machine,
one is at the aquarium tending a seal,
one is dull at the wheel of her Ford,
one is at the toll gate collecting,
one is tying the cord of a calf in Arizona,
one is straddling a cello in Russia....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)