The John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago |
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| Date opened | May 30, 1930 |
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| Location | 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Number of animals | 32,667[1] |
| Number of species | 1,500 |
| Memberships | AZA,[2] AMMPA,[3] WAZA[4] |
| Website | www.sheddaquarium.org |
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Shedd Aquarium
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| Location: | Chicago, Illinois |
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| Built: | 1929 |
| Architect: | Graham,Anderson,Probst & White |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
87000820 [5] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | February 27, 1987 |
| Designated NHL: | February 27, 1987[6] |
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 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; 4,200,000 imp gal) 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.[7] It contains 1500 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects.[8] 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.
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The 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.
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.
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 m) 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.
John Shedd's grandson, John Shedd Reed, who had served as president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad from 1967 to 1986, was president of the aquarium's board from 1984 until 1994, and was a life trustee until his death in 2008.[9][10] Ted A. Beattie has been the president and CEO of the aquarium since 1994.
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.[11] 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 was closed for preventative sealing as well as administrative upgrades. The animals in the exhibit area were put on loan to other facilities nationwide until the exhibit reopened in May 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. The Wild Reef exhibit also features a saltwater tank display area where coral is propagated and grown for conservation purposes.[12]
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, which concluded in the summer of 2008. Currently on display until summer of 2012 is Jellies, which features many varieties of sea jellies such as the Atlantic Sea Nettle, Blue Blubber Jelly, Flower Hat Jelly, Lion's Mane Jelly, Moon Jelly and much more.
The Amazon Rising exhibit is a 8,600-square-foot (800 m2) 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. Species from this area on exhibit include anacondas, piranhas, spiders, rays and crocodiles.
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.
Explore several different galleries that feature exhibits on Oceans, Rivers, Islands and Lakes, and Chicago's own Local Waters. Species on exhibit include mantella frogs, a giant octopus, Nile knifefish, Grand Cayman blue iguanas, sea stars, seahorses, Alligator snapping turtle, and River otter.
This exhibit was added to the aquarium's main collection in 2003. This 27,500 sq ft wing is located underground just off the main foyer. The largest habitat holds 400,000 gallons and several different species of sharks. Other displays include live corals, a mangrove forest, and a re-created Filipino Fishing village.
The Oceanarium is split into two levels, above and below the waterline. Above the waterline, there are bleachers where guests can watch the aquatic show, while below the waterline, guests can see the Beluga Whales and Dolphins up close. Animals in the Oceanarium include Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, and Beluga Whales. It was remodeled in 2009.
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 the Shedd in 1933, along with his mate, from Sydney during the Century of Progress world exposition. During the expo's run, they attracted about 4.5 million visitors.[13]
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.[13] He is at least 86 and possibly 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.
In 2000, Mauyak gave birth to Qannik, who was sent to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma where he died in 2009. In 2006, the Beluga whale Puiji gave birth to a female calf, later named Bella. On August 16, 2007 Mauyak gave birth yet again to a male calf named Miki, the Inuit word for small, bringing the total number of successful beluga calf births at the aquarium to four since 1999.
Kayavak, a young beluga whale, is one of the most famous residents of the Oceanarium. The whale became an orphan at only five months old after her mother, Immiayuk, died. Trainers fed Kayavak fish, cared for her day and night, taught her how to "be a whale," and she thrived to be the healthy adult she is today.
Puiji, another of the Shedd Aquarium's beluga Whales, gave birth to a 162-pound, five-foot, four-inch male calf Dec. 14 now recently named "Nunavik" meaning "friendly, beautiful, and wild".[14] The calf is doing well so far. He debuted to the public on Sunday, January 24, 2010.[15] Another female Beluga, named Naya, gave birth on December 20 to a 162-pound, five-foot two-inch male calf, though the calf died two days later from complications during birth.[16] On Wednesday, October 26th 2011 it was reported that Puiji had died following a seizure after having been undergoing treatment for an undisclosed medical condition over the course of several months. [17]
Kenai (Exxon Valdez oil spill survivor), Kachemaek, Yaku, Mari, and Kiana
Mauyak, Naya, Kayavak, Bella, Miki, and the most recent calf Nunavik.
Katrl, Piquet,Tique*, and Kri.
Biff, Otis and Tyler
Nickel
Rio
Granddad, Lisa, Genine, Mary and Barbie
Eleanor
Guitarfish Lucille
Sawfish Ginsu
Fantasea is a multiple animal show at the Shedd Aquarium, beginning on October 16, 2009 and ran through 2010. The show features sea lions, beluga whales, penguins, hawks, and dolphins.
Shedd Aquarium is also notable for its architecture. The basic design, by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White,[18] is taken from classical Greek architecture, more exactly Beaux Arts, to match the other structures of the Museum Campus. The central aquarium building is octagonal, fronted by Doric columns and a formal staircase and topped by a dome. Aquatic motifs are worked in at every opportunity; tortoise shells, dolphins, octopuses, waves, and even the Trident of Poseidon can be found all over the aquarium's exterior and interior. Improving upon its predecessor inland aquarium, the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, extensive use was made of designs by Mary Chase Perry Stratton, incorporating her custom-made Pewabic Pottery tile.[19] The Oceanarium is done in a more modern style representing the Pacific Northwest, but one that blends with the older part of the building. "Whale Harbor", the Oceanarium's 3,000,000-US-gallon (11,000,000 l) main tank, is backed by a wall of windows that look out onto Lake Michigan.
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