The history of Shedd Aquarium is part vision and part ingenuity. Our founder, John G. Shedd, retired president of Marshall Field & Company, was a marketing genius and just as bold and ambitious as his city. He was determined to transform Chicago into a world-class metropolis.
Build It, and They Will Come
By the early 1920's, every truly cosmopolitan city here and abroad had a fine aquarium. While Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo did have an impressive freshwater fish collection, what Shedd had in mind was a stand-alone aquarium. In the spirit of “build it, and they will come,” he made a $2 million gift to get things going. He would add another $1 million to make sure his aquarium would be just as grand as the two museums already in Grant Park: the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum.
Shedd’s civic and business colleagues rallied behind him. They formed the Shedd Aquarium Society in 1924 and asked the Chicago Park District for use of the area created by landfill at Roosevelt Road and the lakefront. This site was in keeping with architect Daniel Burnham’s visionary Plan of Chicago, which called for the city’s cultural institutions to be located in parks along the lake.
“Make No Little Plans”
Inspired by Burnham’s famous charge, “make no little plans,” Shedd founders got down to business making plans for the world’s largest aquarium. From Naples to Berlin, San Francisco to Boston, a research team spent months examining the design and operation of leading aquariums across the globe. Only the best and most modern techniques would be incorporated into Chicago’s aquarium. Groundbreaking took place on November 2, 1927, and construction of the grand Beaux Arts building was completed in a remarkable two years.
On December 19, 1929, Chicagoans had just dug out from a blizzard. They were still reeling from the stock market crash two months earlier. A sneak preview of the magnificent Shedd Aquarium provided a much-needed boost. Thousands lined up to see the stupendous building and the aquarium’s only display — a large freshwater pool featuring fishes, reptiles and amphibians.
An Unprecedented Undertaking
Over the next year, more than a million gallons of seawater were shipped by rail from Florida to fill new galleries. It was an unprecedented undertaking: Shedd would be the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater collection.
When the aquarium officially opened on May 30, 1930, it housed the greatest variety of sea life under one roof. Sadly, John G. Shedd only lived long enough to see the architect’s first drawings for his aquarium. It was his widow, Mary R. Shedd, who cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony.
From New Kid on the Aquarium Block to Industry Leader
No doubt about it. John G. Shedd would be proud of his aquarium — just as proud as we are three-quarters of a century later.
We’ve restored and updated his building, now a national historic landmark. With the additions of the Oceanarium and Wild Reef, we’ve doubled in size. We are a conservation leader in places near and far, and we continue to set new standards for the zoo and aquarium community. And Shedd is the hottest destination in a cool town.
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, 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 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.
In 1971, the Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a 90,000-US-gallon (340,000 l) exhibit reproducing a Caribbean coral reef. That same year, the aquarium acquired its first research vessel, a 75-foot (23 meter) boat for exploring the Caribbean, manned by a crew to conduct field research and collect specimens. In 1985, this boat was replaced with the aquarium's current vessel, the Coral Reef II.
In 1991, the Shedd Aquarium opened its Oceanarium, a large addition to the aquarium that features many marine mammals, including Pacific white-sided dolphins and belugas. The main 3,000,000-US-gallon (11,000,000 l) tank made it the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world. [8] In 2006, the Beluga whale Puiji gave birth to a female calf, later named Bella. On August 16, 2007 Mauyak, another beluga, gave birth to a male calf named Miki, the Inuit word for small, bringing the total number of successful beluga calf births at the aquarium to three since 1999. The aquarium also boasts a number of sea otters; the core of this collection was a group rescued from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. In the Fall of 2008, the Shedd's Ocenarium will be closed for preventative sealing as well as administrative upgrades. The animals in the exhibit area will be put on loan to other facilities nationwide until the exhibit reopens in May or June 2009.
The Shedd's newest permanent exhibit, Wild Reef, opened in 2003. Located two levels below the main building, the 750,000-US-gallon (2,800,000 l) Wild Reef exhibit recreates a Philippine coral reef and is based on the Apo Island Marine reserve, complete with living coral, multiple species of fish and rays, and a collection of sharks. The main draw of this attraction is a 400,000-US-gallon (1,500,000 l) shark exhibit with 12-foot (3.7 m) high curved windows, allowing visitors a diver's-eye view.[9]
[edit] Granddad
Walter Chute, the aquarium's director from 1928 to 1964, wanted rare fishes to attract the 10 million tourists expected to visit Chicago for the exposition in 1933. Granddad, an Australian lungfish, arrived at Shedd in 1933, along with his mate, from Sydney during the Century of Progress world expo. During the expo's run, they attracted about 4.5 million visitors.[10]
Although Granddad's mate died in 1980, he is still alive and is claimed by the aquarium to be the oldest fish in any aquarium in the world.[10] He is at least 80 and likely much older; he weighs 25 pounds (11 kg) and is 4 feet (1.2 m) in length. His normal behavior is to hang out like a sunken log on the bottom of his habitat.
[edit] Exhibits
There are five permanent exhibits at the Shedd: Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World, the Oceanarium, and Wild Reef. The temporary exhibits include the Lizards and the Komodo King, which features a Komodo dragon named Faust, through the summer of 2008. The Amazon Rising exhibit is a 8600 square foot walkthrough flooded forest recreation of the Amazon river and the surrounding jungle. This exhibit contains 250 different species, and its highest water level is 6 feet. The Caribbean Reef exhibit was built in 1971, on the site of the aquarium's very first exhibit, the Tropical Pool. A feature of this exhibit is a diver that interacts with the animals while talking with the people. A part of the exhibit is a 90,000-US-gallon (340,000 l) circular tank that allows for maximum walk-around viewing. the tank is near the center of the first floor, and is within walking distance of Amazon rising, Waters of the World and Wild Reef. The Oceanarium is split into two levels, above and below the waterline. Above the waterline, there are two sets of bleachers where can watch the dolphins perform. While below the waterline, guests can see the Beluga Whales and Dolphins up close.
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 over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000,000 l) of water. The 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. The aquarium has 2 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.[4] It contains 2100 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects.[5]
Date opened May 30, 1930
Location 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois, USA
Number of animals 32,667[1]
Number of species 2,100
Shedd’s staff includes 252 full-time employees, 126 part-timers and 20 seasonal or temporary workers
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