Patterned after the Pacific Undersea Gardens in Victoria B.C., the tourist-attraction Undersea Gardens on Newport’s Historic Waterfront is still following its parent and has announced it will close after the Summer season. The Victoria attraction closed in 2013. The Newport facility opened in 1966 and it was billed as “112 Windows Under the Sea.” Well, the murky waters of Yaquina Bay forced the owners to remove the windows and add a filtering system so visitors could actually see the underwater show with a diver. The attraction started suffering attendance problems when the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center grew in South Beach and the Oregon Coast Aquarium was built directly across the bay. The owners of the Undersea Gardens actually own Mariner Square which has two other tourist-attractions that they plan to expand to fill the void. The Undersea Gardens is offering FREE admission through Sept. 8. The gift shop will remain open until Oct. 11.
