London Royal Aquarium
The Royal Aquarium in Westminster was designed in 1876 to be a palace of Victorian entertainment. The main hall had palm trees, pieces of sculpture, tanks of curious sea creatures and an orchestra.
There was an art gallery, skating rink and theatre, all at a cost of £200,000.
However the hoped-for high brow clientele never materialised and instead, it turned into a glorified music hall.
Scantily clad young ladies performed "exciting" acrobatic routines or were shot out of cannons. They also performed "aquatic feats" in a tank. You could also experience a "genuine Zulus" dance.
The site was sold to the Methodists for their Central Hall in 1903."Exciting" ceased.
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