39978
New England Aquarium on Central Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Boston previously had three other aquariums over the period of 150 years: the Boston Aquarial Gardens (1859), the Boston Aquarial Gardens and Zoological Gardens (1861), and the South Boston Aquarium (1912).
The demise of the South Boston Aquarium left a void in Boston. Through the South Boston Aquarium, generations of Bostonians had learned to appreciate the wonders of marine life. The seed had been sown for something larger and more ambitious.
The failures of both the Boston Aquarial Gardens and the South Boston Aquarium were instructive. The first was a purely mercantile venture that measured its success by its profits. The second was a civic institution with very limited goals, severe budget restrictions, and political pressures. Even prior to the closing of the South Boston Aquarium, a replacement was envisaged as a private, non-profit organization that would incorporate the best elements of the previous aquariums, while avoiding their pitfalls.
At first, a small, modern aquarium was projected as part of the Museum of Science and preliminary studies were undertaken in this direction. In 1957, however, a group of local businesspeople formed what the New England Aquarium Corporation with the intent of founding an aquarium that would be independent. The directors of the new organization chose the then-rundown Boston waterfront as the site for their project.
Planning for the aquarium began in 1962, with the principal designer being Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates. The building was opened to the public in 1969. The Giant Ocean Tank opened in 1970, and at the time was the largest circular ocean tank in the world.
It is one of the world’s first modern aquariums. Visitors can explore the oceans and visit thousands of marine animals in four levels of world-class exhibits.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Aquarium
www.neaq.org/about-us/mission-vision/#history
39978
New England Aquarium on Central Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Boston previously had three other aquariums over the period of 150 years: the Boston Aquarial Gardens (1859), the Boston Aquarial Gardens and Zoological Gardens (1861), and the South Boston Aquarium (1912).
The demise of the South Boston Aquarium left a void in Boston. Through the South Boston Aquarium, generations of Bostonians had learned to appreciate the wonders of marine life. The seed had been sown for something larger and more ambitious.
The failures of both the Boston Aquarial Gardens and the South Boston Aquarium were instructive. The first was a purely mercantile venture that measured its success by its profits. The second was a civic institution with very limited goals, severe budget restrictions, and political pressures. Even prior to the closing of the South Boston Aquarium, a replacement was envisaged as a private, non-profit organization that would incorporate the best elements of the previous aquariums, while avoiding their pitfalls.
At first, a small, modern aquarium was projected as part of the Museum of Science and preliminary studies were undertaken in this direction. In 1957, however, a group of local businesspeople formed what the New England Aquarium Corporation with the intent of founding an aquarium that would be independent. The directors of the new organization chose the then-rundown Boston waterfront as the site for their project.
Planning for the aquarium began in 1962, with the principal designer being Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates. The building was opened to the public in 1969. The Giant Ocean Tank opened in 1970, and at the time was the largest circular ocean tank in the world.
It is one of the world’s first modern aquariums. Visitors can explore the oceans and visit thousands of marine animals in four levels of world-class exhibits.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Aquarium
www.neaq.org/about-us/mission-vision/#history