Tennessee Aquarium at a Glance
The
Chattanooga skyline features six magnificent peaks that top
the Tennessee Aquarium's River Journey and Ocean Journey buildings.
River Journey is the original Aquarium building and features
stunning freshwater creatures and habitats from around the world.
Visitors can explore two living forests under glass and get
face to face with giant catfish, prehistoric sturgeon and American
alligators.
Ocean
Journey takes visitors beneath the waves where 10-foot sharks,
fierce barracuda and graceful stingrays glide through amazing
coral formations. Other galleries showcase cuttlefish, squid,
crabs and jellyfish. An indoor rainforest showcases the fluttering
jewels of nature - butterflies.
Building
Sizes |
River
Journey |
Ocean
Journey |
| 130,000
square feet |
60,000
square feet |
| The
height of a 12-story building |
The
height of a 10-story building |
| Holds
a total of 400,000 gallons of water |
Holds
a total of 700,000 gallons of water |
| |
|
Building
Costs |
River
Journey |
Ocean
Journey |
| $45
million from individuals, corporations, foundations and
other organizations. |
$30
million - Funded by a $10 million Aquarium bond issue and
$20 million raised through combined efforts with the 21st
Century Waterfront fundraising campaign. |
| |
|
Architects
and Exhibit Designers: |
River
Journey - Original Building |
Ocean
Journey - Expansion |
Cambridge
Seven Associates, Inc.,
Cambridge, MA
Peter Chermayeff, Principal in Charge
Peter Chermayeff, Architect of Record
|
Chermayeff,
Sollogub and Poole Inc.,
Boston, MA
Peter Chermayeff, Design Principal
Peter Sollogub, Principal in Charge
Bobby C Poole, Architect of Record |
| |
|
|
Grand
opening |
| River
Journey – May 1, 1992 |
Ocean
Journey – April 29, 2005 |
| |
|
| Location:
Chattanooga, Tennessee — The Tennessee Aquarium
is located in Ross's Landing Park and Plaza on the banks
of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga. |
| |
|
| Owner:
Private, non-profit corporation
Operator:
Tennessee Aquarium Corporation
President:
Charles L. Arant
Attendance:
Since opening, the Aquarium has drawn, on average, a million
visitors each year. |
Exhibit
Areas |
River
Journey —
Appalachian Cove Forest
Tennessee River Gallery
Discovery Hall
Mississippi Delta
Rivers of the World
Seahorses (special exhibition gallery) |
Ocean
Journey –
Tropical Cove (Forest Pool, Macaw Glade)
Shark Island
Butterfly Garden
Secret Reef
Boneless Beauties (special exhibition gallery)
Undersea Cavern |
| |
|
Specimens:
Approximately 12,000 living specimens, including fish, birds,
mammals, reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans. |
| Educational
Facilities: Hands-on and interactive exhibits,
200-seat auditorium, fully equipped classroom, wet lab,
two computer labs and an outreach van.
Other
properties: Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D® Theater
and Environmental Learning Lab
Construction:
Turner Universal, Nashville, Tenn. |
| Engineering |
River
Journey
John L. Altieri Consulting, Norwalk, Conn.
Weidlinger Associates, New York |
Ocean
Journey
March Adams and Associates, Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn. |
| |
Exhibit
Designers/Fabricators |
River
Journey
Lyons/Zaremba, Inc., Boston, Mass.
The Larson Company, Tucson, Ariz. |
Ocean
Journey
Adirondack Scenic, New York |
Economic
impact:
-
The
Tennessee Aquarium is credited with igniting the “Renaissance
on the River,” and the revitalization of downtown Chattanooga.
No single project has played a greater role in revitalizing
downtown.
-
Since
opening, the Aquarium has anchored an economic revitalization
of the Ross’s Landing riverfront district, with an estimated
economic impact of $1.5 billion, according to the Chamber
of Commerce.
-
More
than 100 stores and restaurants have opened within a few blocks
of the Aquarium and ripples of new development continue to
spread throughout the district, according to the Chattanooga
Downtown Partnership.
-
In
the 200-acre Ross’s Landing area, appraised property
values have increased 124 percent.
-
Tourists
today spend 50 percent more than they did in 1991, and the
industry employs 25 percent more people than a decade ago.
-
Downtown
employment rose 38 percent from 1992 to 2002 – (58 percent
of that increase took place between 1997 and 2002.)
|
