NEW YORK FISH FINALLY HONORED

New York City has a stellar list of tourist attractions including what some believe is the best art museum in the world, a world class zoo, spectacular botanical gardens, a gem of a planetarium, a globally-respected museum of natural history and, as a major coastal city, an array of stunning beaches.

But as a coastal city, we have one very odd embarrassment: one of the grimmest, ugliest and most obscure aquariums in the world.

Yes, we have an aquarium, buried way out on the edge of Brooklyn, mostly in a state of decay and hidden behind dull concrete walls like some kind of fortress.  What's most peculiar about our aquarium is that although it is built on the beach, it is designed to be completely isolated from the coastal environment.

Ironically, it is the oldest continuously operating aquarium in the United States, originally located in Manhattan, then briefly moved to the Bronx during World War II and then ultimately settling into Brooklyn in 1957.

As a kid it was one of my favorite destinations but it was way out in Brooklyn and no one ever wanted to take me.   I think the last time I visited it was in the early 90s...maybe.

I adore aquariums and when I have an itch for one, I grab a train or drive a car to Baltimore which has an amazing one.  Sadly, again, New York's  has the charm of a prison camp.

So, I was stunned and overjoyed to learn that the city agrees with me and after 50 years of neglect, we're going to renovate, expand and turn our aquarium into a star attraction that will hold its own against the Bronx Zoo, the American Museum of Natural History , both the Brooklyn and Bronx Botanical Gardens and other major aquariums throughout the United States.

City officials have unveiled three finalists in the competition to design the new aquarium.  The 25 competitors were challenged to take their inspiration from sea life and sand dunes.  You can read full details here.

I still can't believe they made me wait 50 years for this.

Comments

[Tom]

The first one is beautiful. The second one looks like an amusement park with roller coasters. The third one, well, ugly.