Royal Aquarium

The Royal Aquarium was a grand Victorian entertainment complex that opened here in eighteen seventy-six. Its massive, ornate red-brick and Portland stone building featured a soaring glass-and-iron roof designed to rival the famous Crystal Palace. Although it was intended to serve as an intellectual center for art, classical music, and marine exhibits, the fish tanks were notoriously under-stocked and quickly became a standing joke among Londoners. The institution struggled to attract visitors with high-minded culture and soon pivoted to popular spectacle, hosting everything from tightrope walkers and the first human cannonball to music hall acts.