Belle Isle Aquarium, 2011

Philip Jarmain grew up near London, Ontario, with part of his childhood spent in Switzerland and Ireland. There were also many family trips to Mexico. His mother is a textile artist and fathers an entrepreneur. A childhood love of storytelling led to early fascination with film, photography and cameras. dShort dramas shot with an 8 mm wind-up camera were a passion. Later, his training was in film (Vancouver Film School), and for some years he worked in lighting for feature films and episodic television, and after that as stills photographer for film.

While establishing himself as a full time artist in photography, Jarmain supports himself as a commercial photographer specializing in conceptual advertising, based in Vancouver, where he lives, and Toronto. In this area he is a recipient of multiple Lürzers Archive and Communication Arts awards as well as other international honors.

Detroit’s Belle Isle Aquarium shows how citizens coming together can save a landmark. Originally opening with the neighboring conservatory, both buildings were designed by local architects Nettleton & Kahn. Though the conservatory was mostly glass, the aquarium presented a true art piece, with carvings of dolphins, and large columns with those entering walking under a carving of Neptune and the city of Detroit seal. Beyond the baroque entryway, visitors were hit with a powerful burst of green, coming from the floor and ceiling, giving the feeling of being under water inside a cavern. 44 tanks contained many fish and sea creatures. In the middle, the ceiling was raised to three-stories that once held a large viewing area with a tank that held over 8,500 gallons.

Aluminum lined tanks and black tile came to the aquarium in a 1954 renovation. The large center tank was replaced with many smaller tanks. By the 1980s, attendance began to decline, and by 2005 mayor Kwame Kilpatrick presented the plan to close the aquarium, for good. The attendance of 56,000 in 2004 was no where close to the attendance of 1.8 million in 1935 and it closed in April of that year. The closure, however only brought attention to an asset many did not realize was there. Volunteers bargained with the city since before the closure and were successful in getting the building to be opened to the public in the beginning of 2012. Though most of the fish were given to other aquariums across the country, the volunteers have opened the structure on weekends, showing off a minimal amount of exhibits and the interior architecture, all while doing minor improvements to the building and applying for grants. With the state takeover of Belle Isle, there is a strong chance the neglected building will be funded and appreciated for what it once was and restored to its former splendor.