The Plaza Nueva in Alicante City
For years the Plaza Nueva was famous for its urban fish aquarium
La Plaza Nueva, formerly known as La Plaza Hernán Cortés and commonly called La Plaza del Acuario (The plaza of the Aquarium) is an attractive square situated between Calle César Elguezabal and Calle Navas in the central district of Alicante city. Until August of 2015 La Plaza Nueva was famous for its marine aquarium, which brought many locals and tourists to the square. Due to the popularity of this unique attraction, there are now plans to reopen the aquarium to welcome many new species of Mediterranean fish.
The plaza was built in the 19th Century in the ancient agricultural district of the Huerto de Los Franciscanos (see Plaza de Calvo Sotelo), which was occupied during this period by the previous residents of the neighbourhood Arrabal de San Antón after their homes were demolished at the beginning of the Spanish War of Independence.
By the end of the 19th century the Arrabal de San Antón residential area had been rebuilt and much of the population returned to their homes, leaving the plaza relatively unused until the 1980s, when the square was urbanised and resurfaced, and palm trees were taken down to make room for restaurants and bars to put their terraces out on the square. It was then named La Plaza Nueva, and finally in 1996 the plaza underwent further reforms as the marine aquarium was installed, a rather unusual attraction, which has bought a lot of tourism to the square.
For many years the modern, silver fish tank was home to many different species of Mediterranean fish including Breams, Sea Bass and Corvinas, attracting tourists who could watch the fish from the cafés on the opposite side of the square and families with children who used to love pressing their faces up against the glass to count how many they could see.
However, on 11th August 2015, the plaza suffered a shocking incident when a total of 130 fish from the aquarium died suddenly due to a fault in the system that controlled the water temperature inside the tank, leaving the aquarium closed to the public and abandoned.
Despite the unfortunate event, this year the town hall of Alicante has announced that the aquarium will be reopened, much to the discontent of many locals, ecologists and animal welfare associations who signed petitions demanding that the tank should be kept closed and replaced by some form of cultural activity.
There will be six different tanks housing several species of fish and the project is expected to cost up to 142.000 euros, which includes the cost of the first year of tank maintenance. The town hall has reassured that the new fish will have the correct conditions for them to live harmoniously as well as guaranteeing regular maintenance of the aquarium, which includes temperature checks and frequent tank cleaning.
Even after the incident of 2015 the square continues to be a lively and popular public space for residents and tourists, with luxurious clothes boutiques, a news kiosk, restaurants, and cafés selling frozen yoghurt and ice cream whose terraces open out onto the plaza, some of which are sheltered by attractive trellises of vines and pretty flowers.
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