New England Aquarium

Lore & Background

Boston has had multiple aquariums since the 1880s, the last before the New England Aquarium being the South Boston Aquarium at Marine Park, which closed in the 1950s. As part of the city’s goal of revitalizing the waterfront, a new modern aquarium designed by Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates was planned starting in 1962, with David B. Stone leading the project as President of the New England Aquarium Corporation. The brutalist concrete building opened to the public in 1969, and the Giant Ocean Tank opened in 1970.

In 1974, a purpose-built barge named Discovery was moored next to Central Wharf, serving as a floating addition with a 1,000-seat amphitheater overlooking a 116,000-gallon saltwater pool for marine mammals. Bottlenose dolphins performed there until they were transferred in the mid-1990s, and the aging Discovery was decommissioned in the mid-2000s due to rising maintenance costs.

The West Wing, designed by Schwartz/Silver Architects, was completed in 1998, and the Simons Theatre opened in 2001. In 2009, the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center opened, and in 2010, the Animal Care Center opened in Quincy. A renovation of the Giant Ocean Tank completed in 2013 included an expanded coral reef and larger acrylic viewing windows.

Architectural Evolution & the Brutalist Icon

The New England Aquarium's physical footprint chronicles a city reinventing its waterfront. Boston had hosted aquariums since the 1880s, the South Boston Aquarium at Marine Park being the last predecessor before this modern institution. In 1962, amid a broader waterfront revitalization push, planning began for a new facility.

Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates designed the building, while David B. Stone led the project as President of the New England Aquarium Corporation. The result was a striking brutalist concrete edifice with a vast, cavernous interior that welcomed the public in 1969. The following year, the iconic Giant Ocean Tank—a 200,000-gallon cylindrical structure of concrete and glass—became the centerpiece. When the wharf's limited space constrained growth, a multi-storied barge called Discovery was moored beside the building in 1974, housing a 1,000-seat amphitheater and a 116,000-gallon saltwater pool for marine mammals.

The Discovery served until the mid-2000s, when rising maintenance costs forced its decommissioning. In 1998, Schwartz/Silver Architects added the glass-and-steel West Wing with a gift shop and the Harbor View Café. A $42 million upgrade cycle beginning in 2007 brought expanded coral reef elements, larger acrylic windows, and the Yawkey Coral Reef Center to the tank area, which reopened in 2013.

The Giant Ocean Tank & Living Galleries

At the heart of the New England Aquarium stands the Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon cylindrical structure simulating a Caribbean coral reef. Its permanent residents include green sea turtles (one named Myrtle), loggerhead sea turtles, and hundreds of colorful tropical fish, with reef-dwelling sharks, stingrays, and moray eels also appearing. The tank is open and accessible at the top, encircled by a spiral walkway that lets visitors peer through 67 acrylic windows from every angle. Beneath the tank, a 150,000-gallon saltwater tray houses a penguin habitat where African and southern rockhopper penguins roam artificial rock islands, visible from the walkway, perimeter areas, and every gallery.

Four levels of smaller exhibits open into the central atrium, accessible by spiral staircase or a separate ramp system. The Tropical Gallery showcases live corals and warm-water fishes, including a floor-to-ceiling 9,000-gallon Indo-Pacific coral reef exhibit. The Temperate Gallery features goliath groupers, lungfish, and, since 2011, an Australian Great Southern Reef exhibit with leafy and weedy seadragons, for which the aquarium runs a captive breeding program. In 2019, the original Indo-Pacific tank was replaced with a new floor-to-ceiling artificial coral habitat modeled on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, a marine sanctuary the aquarium helped establish.

Conservation, Research & Rehabilitation

Beyond its role as a public attraction, the New England Aquarium operates as a serious conservation and research institution. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, headed by John Mandelman, Ph.D., carries out sustained research on the North Atlantic right whale. On the rehabilitation front, the Quincy Animal Care Center—a 23,000-square-foot off-site facility that opened in 2010—takes in and rehabilitates hundreds of sea turtles each year. The center also houses large tanks used for holding animals during exhibit renovations and quarantining new arrivals.

During the 2013 Giant Ocean Tank renovation, the penguin colony was temporarily relocated to Quincy while the tank's fish residents moved into the penguin habitat at the base of the exhibit. The aquarium's commitment to species preservation extends to captive breeding: in 2011, it launched a breeding program for leafy and weedy seadragons in its Temperate Gallery. Additionally, the aquarium helped establish the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, a marine sanctuary whose coral ecosystem now inspires the new floor-to-ceiling exhibit in the Tropical Gallery. These layered efforts position the aquarium as a bridge between public wonder and scientific stewardship of ocean life.

A Living Part of Boston's Waterfront

The New England Aquarium has woven itself into the daily rhythm of Boston's Central Wharf. More than 1.3 million guests passed through its doors annually before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that flow. The institution's presence extends well beyond the main building: the Atlantic harbor seal exhibit on the front of the structure, home to five seals, can be viewed for free at any hour without entering. The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, which opened in 2009 on the rear of the building, offers an open-air view of California sea lions and northern fur seals from the Harborwalk.

The 428-seat Simons Theatre, opened in 2001, hosts films and special events; a 2020 renovation swapped the IMAX system for a digital projector capable of 2D and 3D presentations on an 80-by-43-foot screen, reducing seating to 378. That same year, contemporary artist Shepard Fairey painted a mural titled 'A Vital and Vibrant Ocean for All,' featuring a North Atlantic right whale, on the theatre's façade. The New England Aquarium Whale Watch and the Simons Theatre round out the Central Wharf attractions, making the aquarium a multifaceted cultural anchor rather than a single-purpose destination.

Reader's Guide

The New England Aquarium has played a significant role in marine conservation and public education since its opening in 1969. Its Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life conducts long-running research on the North Atlantic right whale, and its Quincy Animal Care Center rescues and rehabilitates hundreds of sea turtles annually.

The aquarium's exhibits, including the Giant Ocean Tank, the penguin habitat, and the Shark and Ray Touch Tank, provide immersive experiences that highlight marine biodiversity. The aquarium also engages in captive breeding programs, such as for leafy and weedy seadragons, and has contributed to the establishment of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. Its location on Central Wharf, with the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, makes it a key attraction in Boston's waterfront revitalization.