The Aquarium in the former Museum of French Colonies

I'll spare you any serious analysis on the topic, but the former Musée des Colonies turned Musée des arts de l'Afrique, l'Asie, et l'Oceanie is now an aquarium that will soon enough share the building, which was constructed for the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition, with a new museum about immigration.

Here are some choice images:



Lest you worry that they would close the aquarium during the renovation...




The distinguishing feature of the building are the frescoes on the outside that feature primitivist, exoticist, and colonial images of the French colonies.




While everybody else was looking at the fish, I was taking pictures of the most obvious remnants of the building's former lives. Here is one of the murals from 1931 that is now awkwardly juxtaposed with a lot of fish tanks...



The famous alligator pit.



And I did look at some of the fish. I was very impressed by these piranhas that seem to have gold flecks on them.