Shedd Aquarium
Shedd Aquarium
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| Date opened | May 30, 1930 |
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| Location | 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Number of animals | 32,000 |
| Number of species | 1,500 |
| Total volume of tanks | 5 million US gallons (19,000 m3) |
| Annual visitors | 2.02 Million |
| Memberships | AZA,AMMPA,WAZA |
| Major exhibits | Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Abbott Oceanarium, Polar Play Zone, Waters of the World, Wild Reef |
| Website | www |
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Shedd Aquarium
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| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 41°52′4″N 87°36′50″W / 41.86778°N 87.61389°WCoordinates: 41°52′4″N 87°36′50″W / 41.86778°N 87.61389°W |
| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Graham,Anderson,Probst & White |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 27, 1987 |
| Designated NHL | February 27, 1987 |
Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States that opened on May 30, 1930. The aquarium contains 32,000 animals, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000,000 l; 4,200,000 imp gal) of water. Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. It is surrounded by Museum Campus Chicago, which it shares with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. In 2015, the aquarium had 2.02 million annual visitors; it was the most visited aquarium in the U.S. in 2005, and in 2007, it surpassed the Field Museum as the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. It contains 1500 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. The aquarium received awards for best exhibit from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for Seahorse Symphony in 1999, Amazon Rising in 2001, and Wild Reef in 2004.
Shedd Aquarium was the gift of retail leader John G. Shedd, a protégé of Marshall Field (benefactor of the adjacent Field Museum), to the city of Chicago. Although Shedd only lived long enough to see the architect's first drawings for the aquarium, his widow, Mary R. Shedd, cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony.
The aquarium cost $3,000,000 to build, and initially included 132 exhibit tanks. Groundbreaking took place on November 2, 1927, and construction was completed on December 19, 1929; the first exhibits were opened on May 30, 1930. As one of the first inland aquariums in the world, the Shedd had to rely on a custom-made railroad car, the Nautilus, for the transport of fish and seawater. The Nautilus lasted until 1959.
In 1930, 20 railroad tank cars made eight round trips between Key West and Chicago to transport 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 l) of seawater for the Shedd's saltwater exhibits. In 1933, Chicago hosted its second world's fair, the Century of Progress. The Aquarium was located immediately north of the fairgrounds, and the museum gained exposure to a large international crowd.
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