Architect J. Smedley. Aquarium complex opened 23rd December 1887. Contained pleasure gardens, swimming baths, toboggan ride and variety of entertainment under the great dome. Suffered from neglect in recent years until its present redevelopment.

The Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths were opened on 23rd December 1887 by the Minister for Education, Mr. Inglis and by the 1890s had become an entertainment centre rivaled only by Bondi and Manly.

The original Coogee Palace covered the whole block bounded by Dolphin, Beach, Bream and Arden Streets.

Children were well catered for with swings, whirligigs, rocking horses, toy boats, donkey rides and a giant toboggan rink.

Other outdoor entertainments included aviaries, flower beds, a bandstand and an open-air bar.

The Great Hall and the swimming pool proved to be the most popular. The Hall had a floor that could be converted into a roller skating rink and additional dance space was provided in late 1889 with the construction of a balcony or promenade which accommodated 3000.

After 1908, entertainments declined at the Palace despite the rise in popularity of Coogee as a surfing beach and the extension of paid holidays to many workers.

From the 1920s parts of the Aquarium building were let out to shopkeepers and residents.

In 1935, the Coogee Palace Aquarium became the centre of the famous shark arm murder case. A three metre tiger shark, caught off Coogee Beach by fisherman Albert Hobson (whose brother was the proprietor of the Aquarium) was placed on display at the Aquarium. While spectators looked on, the shark coughed up a human arm, which was later identified to be that of James Smith, a former boxer and S.P. bookmaker with underworld connections. Patrick Brady was eventually charged with Smith's murder but the case was dismissed before it went to a jury. Brady continued his criminal career of forgery until his death in 1965.

The Coogee Palace Aquarium structure suffered from neglect for many years and when a Conservation Order was placed on it by the Heritage Council in May 1982, its condition had deteriorated considerably.

In June 1984 strong winds and torrential rain combined to 'decapitate' the structure and the huge dome collapsed.

In 1986 Randwick Council approved renovation of the Coogee Palace Aquarium and the restoration of the dome and by the end of 1987 a new Coogee Palace had been developed on the site. The new development contains a mixture of restaurants and speciality shops.