Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
The place behind the detail.
A concrete building of 1969, a coral reef in a cylinder and research at sea offer several ways into the story of the New England Aquarium.
On this page
A building on the harbour
Designed by Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates, the aquarium opened on Central Wharf on 20 June 1969 after seven years of planning.
Its concrete building looks out over Boston Harbor, with commuter boats landing beside it on the wharf.
The Giant Ocean Tank
The 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank opened in 1970 and was renewed in 2013. Myrtle, a green sea turtle, is one of its permanent residents.
Penguins live in a pool at its base.
Beyond the building
The aquarium is a non-profit organisation, and its Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life carries out long-running research on the North Atlantic right whale.
This history belongs to the place and the people who shaped it. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
