Toronto Ripley's Aquarium of Canada | 13.11m | 2s | Ripley Entertainment | B+H

Bogtrotter said:
In my opinion the waterfront is a no brainer for an aquarium. Ripley's is synonymous with tacky, what's next for here- a giant ferris wheel?
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That's the second post saying we should put up another huge building on our waterfront. Where? Why? What is it about an aquarium (a very large building hosting exotic fish from around the world) that makes you say 'Waterfront', when going down to the current Waterfront is about lake breezes, views or trips to the islands, park walks or picnics.

And, puh-leeze don't say, 'But it's water, don't you know?' That's just ridiculous. This is a great location for a tourist attraction -- right beside another tourist attraction.
 
The_Architect said:
There is no way this area will become as tacky as Clifton Hill.
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I guess we'll have to shoot for Fisherman's Wharf level? I kid, I kid.

Looks like there won't be much green space left around the CN Tower when it's all said and done, although I'm excited to have an aquarium in the city. Ripley's has plenty of experience with this, with some of their previous aquarium dropping the really tacky look, so I'm hopeful this will be even better.
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
That's the second post saying we should put up another huge building on our waterfront. Where? Why? What is it about an aquarium (a very large building hosting exotic fish from around the world) that makes you say 'Waterfront'...
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... but you are joking, right?

Riverdale Rink Rat said:
This is a great location for a tourist attraction -- right beside another tourist attraction.
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... hence, the Clifton Hill approach. Even the idea of tourist 'attractions' is just plain tacky.

How to do it right:

A00304g_Chicago.jpg


The dross we are getting:

Ripleys3.jpg


Enough said.
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
That's the second post saying we should put up another huge building on our waterfront. Where? Why? What is it about an aquarium (a very large building hosting exotic fish from around the world) that makes you say 'Waterfront', when going down to the current Waterfront is about lake breezes, views or trips to the islands, park walks or picnics.

And, puh-leeze don't say, 'But it's water, don't you know?' That's just ridiculous. This is a great location for a tourist attraction -- right beside another tourist attraction.
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But it's water don't you know :p Sorry couldn't resist. Certainly it doesn't have to be there but it's the most logical place in my opinion. The Shedd in Chicago has done an outstanding job with their facility and taking advantage of it's lakeside location- the views outside over lake Michigan are terrific. I say the Shedd because they are example of an aquarium, if you are indeed going to have one, that has done it right. But certainly I understand perfectly well why Ripley's wants it next to the tower.
 
I was going to set up my home aquarium in the living room, given that the living room is conveniently located next to my bedroom, foyer and kitchen, but I realize now that it would only make sense to set it up next to the outdoor swimming pool. I mean, without the adjacent pool, how could I really appreciate that fish swim in water?
 
Apples and oranges.

The Shedd is a grand-old institutional aquarium built with dollars from roaring Twenties monocle-wearing types. Facilities like that don't just pop up these days without major contributions from government or mildly-eccentric billionaires.

Ripley's is a for-profit corporation that is investing only as much in their facility as can be justified by future revenue potential.
 
Ramako said:
I was going to set up my home aquarium in the living room, given that the living room is conveniently located next to my bedroom, foyer and kitchen, but I realize now that it would only make sense to set it up next to the outdoor swimming pool. I mean, without the adjacent pool, how could I really appreciate that fish swim in water?
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... that's about right. The level of vision for the Toronto aquarium is about equal to Ramako's living room.
 
Ramako said:
I was going to set up my home aquarium in the living room, given that the living room is conveniently located next to my bedroom, foyer and kitchen, but I realize now that it would only make sense to set it up next to the outdoor swimming pool. I mean, without the adjacent pool, how could I really appreciate that fish swim in water?
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This is one of the worst analogies I have ever seen.

The main reason I was hoping for an aquarium on the Waterfront is because Toronto's Waterfront doesn't really have a big ticket, tourist drawing landmark, though perhaps the Canadian Malting Silos site could provide such a venue in the future. I don't mean to sound critical of the work being done on Toronto's waterfront, I just think it is missing something.

With regards to the Ripley's Aquarium I am hopeful that the finished product will not be overly tacky, but it is easy to see why people are concerned given Ripley's previous ventures. I also understand why Ripley's chose the CN Tower site given that it is an area that already sees significant tourist activity. However, I believe that an aquarium would probably be just as successful at a Waterfront location and would provide the Waterfront with a big ticket landmark. Of course this is somewhat of a moot point given that the Ripley's aquarium is under construction, so let's just hope for the best.
 
While an aquarium doesn't need to be near a large body of water (Atlanta is not near the ocean, but they have the very large Georgia Aquarium), it's quite common. Boston's New England Aquarium, Baltimore's National Aquarium, New Orleans' Audobon Aquarium of the Americas, the aforementioned Shedd in Chicago and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example, are all on the waterfront (of those, I've only been to the aquariums in Chicago and New Orleans). While I think it would make sense to put a Toronto aquarium somewhere on the waterfront, one can see the advantages of putting it next to the CN Tower: Harboufront is not tourist friendly in the colder months, whereas its current location puts it close to other sites and attractions, such as the Rogers Centre, CN Tower, Convention Rentre, Roundhouse, and with enclosed access to Union Station via the Skywalk.

I just hope this aquarium is good. I'd rather have no aquarium than a cheesy one.
 
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Tewder said:
... but you are joking, right?
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No, I'm not. Let's have some fun: Where would you put your Waterfront Aquarium? Instead of Hines' East Bayfront? That's well out of the central waterfront tourist zone. Instead of Canada Square? Then, where do you put the parking to get it off QQ? Tear down the Radisson or Pier 4?

You could go to the north side of QQ and get rid of one of the surface parking lots... but then it's not really waterfront, is it? In fact, it's about an extra 3 minute walk from where it's going to be located. HTO West, I guess, or the parking lot on the other side of the Music Garden... neither of which is any better, IMHO, than the location they chose.

If you have to have water for your aquarium, you really should put it out at Polson Pier or elsewhere on Cherry along the harbour, and have an iconic view of this fabulous new building that you're getting designed by an iconic architect. Call me when you cobble together the $200M without government donations, and I'll accept my consulting fee for the idea.
 
ReThink said:
This is one of the worst analogies I have ever seen.

The main reason I was hoping for an aquarium on the Waterfront is because Toronto's Waterfront doesn't really have a big ticket, tourist drawing landmark, though perhaps the Canadian Malting Silos site could provide such a venue in the future. I don't mean to sound critical of the work being done on Toronto's waterfront, I just think it is missing something.

With regards to the Ripley's Aquarium I am hopeful that the finished product will not be overly tacky, but it is easy to see why people are concerned given Ripley's previous ventures. I also understand why Ripley's chose the CN Tower site given that it is an area that already sees significant tourist activity. However, I believe that an aquarium would probably be just as successful at a Waterfront location and would provide the Waterfront with a big ticket landmark. Of course this is somewhat of a moot point given that the Ripley's aquarium is under construction, so let's just hope for the best.
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I totally agree. You hit the nail on the head. It's about building a great waterfront, not just an aquarium. Another great opportunity falls through our hands. Again, and again and...
 
Automation Gallery said:
Thats because luring people to this location is a no brainer.
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True, but I would've hoped there'd be some more thought put into the design of this area. I don't really care if Ripley's will do a little better at the base of the CN Tower - we should really be demanding more. At the very least they could've forced them to design something worthwhile.
 
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