Aquarama Aquarium Theater of the Sea, also known as Aquarama, was a unique 1960s aquarium attraction located in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of Broad Street and Hartranft Street, just west of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, south of Marconi Plaza, north of FDR Park, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Naval Hospital. It adjoined the east border of the newly developed residential neighborhood Packer Park at 3300 South Broad Street.Admission cost: Children $1 Adults $2Hours of operation: 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.Shows: Four times DailyHistoryAquarama was a leading 1960s educational and entertainment concept that combined the previous elements of an Aquarium zoo with theatrical aquatic circus. Even its name reflected 21st century jargon Aqua+"arama" (like Cinerama) communicating a Sea to "See" it all. This private enterprise successor to the City owned Philadelphia Aquarium established as the first of its kind in the City of Philadelphia in 1911 that was closed in 1962. The old Aquarium had been housed in vacated building space when the City's Fairmount Park Waterworks was closed and the pumping machine removed. The building was located along the Schuylkill River using the river as a water source. It was a success until the 1940s with over one million visitors annually, until the facility fell into disrepair and exhibits diminished in variety and became known more for dead fish and a building infested with rodents. The City failed to provide funds to build a new public Aquarium in Fairmount Park recommended by the Fairmount Park Commission. Frustration led to raising $3 million of private funds to build Aquarama on the 10acre site in South Philadelphia.
