Oliver Tweed said:
Is Ontario Place not the perfect location for the aquarium? And is now, at a time when O.P.'s purpose is being redefined for the future, not the perfect time to make it happen?
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It would make the most sense to have a major aquarium on the waterfront. But we're dealing with Ripley's here- Myrtle beach and Gatlinburg are their other markets, I think that is quite telling right there. Personally I think Niagara Falls would be a better locale for this sort of venue. For Toronto i'd rather see something along the lines of Shedd in Chicago, which is, yes, on the lakefront and one of the best and most respected aquarium facilities in the world.
 
I wish people would stop bringing up the Shedd or Georgia aquariums as comparisons. Those aquariums were funded by wealthy philanthropists seeking to leave a legacy. Toronto has no such benefactors willing to donate hundreds of millions of dollars for an aquarium. That being the case, how else could Toronto fund an aquarium? The taxpayers certainly won't pony up the dough.

If we want an aquarium at all, we'll necessary have to turn to the private sector. By extension of that, it's unrealistic to expect an aquarium that will be revered as an academic and scientific institution. What we can realistically expect is a for-profit spectacle, whether or not it's on the waterfront.
 
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Yeh Chicago's Shedd is quite magnificent, with stunning views of the skyline from the waterfront to boot. http://www.dam.brown.edu/people/glin/Chicago_Postcards/shedd-aquarium.jpg

The only aspect I don't like is the pacific white-sided dolphins, although the view over their pool onto lake Michigan is amazing- almost feels like your looking out over the big blue Pacifc. It's an exceptional facility to be sure :)
 
Bogtrotter said:
It would make the most sense to have a major aquarium on the waterfront. But we're dealing with Ripley's here.
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Definitely agree with you but if you are Ripley's, where are most tourists going to be? In front of the CN Tower. Right. So you have to think about the potential for income there as opposed to Ontario Place. However, that would be an awesome spot, I must say.
 
Doesn't it depend on how you define 'tourist'? In a Toronto context aren't we really talking about local Toronto/GTA area visitors and school class tours etc to a large degree? Insisting that the Waterfront is so out of the way/unreachable or undesirable to 'tourists' is a bit much, especially in the context of a revitalized Ontario Place (as somebody else pointed out), and especially when envisioning a revitalized Waterfront. Even the Ontario Science Centre, as out of the way as it is, manages to be one of the top 'tourism' sites in the city, drawing upwards of 800,000 people a year.

As for wealthy philanthropists, well Ripley's isn't exactly lacking a dollar or two... and they are receiving all kinds of 'incentives' to open in Toronto. Clearly they must think the city has something to offer them. I find it hard to believe that is is all contingent on a CN Tower location. If it is, I become ever more dubious as to just what they will have on offer.
 
While it may or may not be "painfully obvious" that an aquarium should be on the waterfront, if one looks at some of the [biggest/most visited/"best"] aquaria around the world it's hardly a given that they are all on the waterfront - Vancouver, Valencia, Okinawa, HK, Shanghai, to name a few. Many of them are near the water, maybe 200-400 m from it (similar to Toronto's case), but not actually on it. Doesn't seem to have affected their quality or popularity.
(And of course there's the oft-quoted Georgia Aquarium, but granted Atlanta is nowhere near any big bodies of water).
 
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While I'm relatively happy with the chosen site and design for this aquarium, I too would have loved to see it become the centrepiece of a revitalized Ontario Place.

An additional pod could fit right next to the existing ones. I'd also like to see the Science Centre moved to those pods, where selling the current Don Mills building and land could finance the move. The IMAX theatre is already there. The pods would just need to be exhibit space, a pretty easy conversion I think. Ontario Place would be reinvented as a place to learn.

That opportunity is now missed. Sad :(
 
golodhendil said:
While it may or may not be "painfully obvious" that an aquarium should be on the waterfront, if one looks at some of the [biggest/most visited/"best"] aquaria around the world it's hardly a given that they are all on the waterfront - Vancouver, Valencia, Okinawa, HK, Shanghai, to name a few. Many of them are near the water, maybe 200-400 m from it (similar to Toronto's case), but not actually on it. Doesn't seem to have affected their quality or popularity.
(And of course there's the oft-quoted Georgia Aquarium, but granted Atlanta is nowhere near any big bodies of water).
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How do the waterfronts in those cities compare to Toronto's in terms of the level of existing development? In the 'scratching one's head over this choice in the future' vein lets not overlook the larger context/mandate of Waterfront rejuvenation that is at play in Toronto... or at the very least should be at play! The fact that it isn't, and that we're talking about an aquarium here (hello, life in the water!) is seriously problematic for me.
 
The aquaria in Vancouver, Okinawa and HK are all in waterside parks with ample free shoreline, so there's no obvious reason (other than maybe to preserve the integrity of the shore, in the case of Vancouver) to not put the aquarium by the water; and that's not even counting the fact that those cities, being in deltas and/or on islands, have significantly more free and un(der)developed waterfronts than Toronto. HK also just moved its aquarium even further away from the water. Valencia purposely built its aquarium far inland to locate it within an entertainment/cultural complex. Shanghai is actively developing/redeveloping its riverfront, but chose to build its aquarium in an inland site.
 
Application: New Building Status: Not Started

Location: 280 BREMNER BLVD
TORONTO ON

Ward 20: Trinity-Spadina

Application#: 11 150535 BLD 00 NB Accepted Date: Mar 22, 2011

Project: Other New Building

Description: Permit for construction of new Ripley's Aquarium - 1 storey above grade and 2 storeys below grade - 13m in height. Please see 09 189702 STE 20 OZ and 09 189714 STE 20 SA for Opa/Rezoning and Site Plan approval.


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Interesting, it just might peak out from our waterfront skyline...43 feet tall, a bit less than half the height of the Air Canada Centre.
 
with only 1 storey - how much fish can you really put in there? not to be negative, but will it really attract people to go and see it?
 
argg, here I was thinking someone had news about this ...
 
I would have to agree with Parkdalian this design is Very plain and franly disapointing. it raises the question does Toronto really want to be a worl class city? Because with this sort of thing we arent even competing.
 
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