The History of the New York Aquarium

The History of the New York Aquarium. From Manhattan to the Bronx to Brooklyn!. , We were New York Zoological Society, Today we are Wildlife Conservation Society, Our 100 years of exploration, conservation, and education continues, Manhattan , 1896 | U.S. Debut: The New York Aquarium opened at its first location in Castle Clinton in lower Manhattan. It was New York City's most popular attraction, with hundreds of thousands of visitors a year., 1908 | Exhibiting Local Species: The Bronx River, which runs through New York City, was an early source of exhibit specimens for the Aquarium., 1915 | A Gentle Giant: A manatee from the Amazon River was shown for the first time in the U.S. at the Aquarium. It was quite sociable and loved to have its back scratched by keepers and visitors., 1924 | Feathery Friends: Brown pelicans came to the Aquarium, sharing a pool with several large fish species., 1927 | Popular Penguins: African black-footed penguins have always been a crowd favorite, and visitors can still see them on exhibit today., 1931 | A "How To" Exhibit: With 72 tanks of fresh-water fishes, the "Visitor's Gallery" was devoted showing visitors how to set up and maintain a home aquarium., 1934 | Reaching New Depths: Dr. William Beebe and Otis Barton made several record bathysphere descents in the waters of Bermuda. The original bathysphere is on display here at the Aquarium., Bronx , 1942 | Aquarium Moves to the Bronx Zoo: With the closing of its original doors at Castle Clinton, a spectacular new set of doors opened in 1942 when the Aquarium moved to the Bronx Zoo's Lion House., 1945 | Electrifying Science: The Aquarium's Dr. Christopher Coates kept electric eels in a basement laboratory at the Bronx Zoo where he worked on developing an antidote to nerve gas., Brooklyn , 1956 | Moving to Brooklyn: After 15 years at the Bronx Zoo, New York eagerly looked forward to the completion of its new major Aquarium in Coney Island., 1957 | Home at Coney Island: On June 6, 1957, a black-footed penguin named Anne cut the ribbon at the official opening of the new New York Aquarium., 1959 | Luxury Accommodations: The Tripool, the Aquarium's first major outdoor exhibit, gave visitors an up-close view of marine mammals like harbor seals, grey seals, and a walrus., 1961 | Drugs From the Deep: In addition to monitoring the Aquarium's collection, the Pathology Laboratory focused its research on aquatic sources of medical drugs., 1965 | A New Research Facility: Groundbreaking on the Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences opened new opportunities for scientific research., 1969 | The First Touch Tank: Revolutionary for the time, this exhibit gave visitors the chance to touch horseshoe crabs, starfish, clams, and other creatures of the sea., 1972 | First Aquarium-born Whale: The first whale of any kind to be bred in captivity was born to a pair of beluga wales in the New York Aquarium's oceanic tank., 1986 | Discovery Cove Construction Begins: On March 21, 1986, groundbreaking was held for Discover Cove, a unique exhibit centered on educating kids about marine life., 1993 | Sea Cliffs Opens: The grand opening of Sea Cliffs featured walruses, northern fur seals, California sea otters, and black-footed penguins., 2002 | Alien Stingers Opens: This mesmerizing exhibit features gently pulsing jellyfish and other tentacled, stinging creatures found throughout the world's oceans., 2004 | Glover's Reef Opens: The exhibit showcases the vibrant fish and coral native to the magnificent reef in Belize for which it is named., 2008 | World-Class Care: The new Aquatic Animal Health Center is a sophisticated clinical laboratory allowing vets to perform advanced diagnostic surgery, and follow-up care of all of the Aquarium's animals., 2011 | A New Era in Conservation: Conservation Hall opens with vibrant tanks featuring three major ecosystems. Coral reefs, freshwater lakes, and a flooded forest highlight the amazing diversity of the aquatic world and the measures WCS is taking to protect them., 2012 | Hurricane Sandy Strikes: On October 29th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit New York, flooding the Aquarium and damaging many of our buildings and exhibits., 2016 | Listening to Whales: With the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we launch a state-of-the-art acoustic buoy to record whales in New York waters., 2018: Opening of Ocean Wonders: Sharks! The first phrase of the rebuild after Hurricane Sandy is complete, with the opening of Ocean Wonders: Sharks!, Up Next! , The Aquarium's transformation will continue with three exciting new exhibits, Sea Change, Spineless, and PlayQuarium, coming soon!