"Located across a causeway from downtown Miami and overlooking Biscayne Bay, the park was beloved by those who grew up visiting the landmark, but plagued by persistent animal welfare complaints. Last year, the aquarium's parent company received an eviction notice for the waterfront property it leases from Miami-Dade County. Local cited a "long and troubling history of violations." The action followed a series of federal inspections that found multiple problems, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings."
"The Miami Seaquarium, an old-Florida style tourist attraction that gained international attention as the filming location for the 1960s television series "Flipper" and thrilled generations of tourists with trained dolphin and orca shows, has closed its doors. In recent years, activists focused on the fate of Lolita, an orca whale held captive in a shallow pool for more than a half-century. She died just as caregivers were preparing to move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest."
Miami Seaquarium closed Sunday after nearly seven decades as an old-Florida style waterfront attraction known for dolphin and orca shows and its role in the 1960s television series Flipper. The park opened in 1955 and faced persistent animal welfare complaints and decades of protests by activists seeking the release of captive marine mammals. Federal inspections uncovered multiple problems, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings, and Miami-Dade County issued an eviction notice citing a long history of violations. An orca named Lolita died while caregivers were preparing to move her to a natural sea pen. Redevelopment plans propose an accredited aquarium without marine mammals, plus a research center, shops, restaurants and a public baywalk.
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