The opening of Boston’s New England Aquarium in 1969 ushered in a new age for aquariums, combining the traditional ideas found in the classic aquariums of the early 20th century with new technology and revised educational and research commitments. Aquariums have since proliferated. The following pages highlight the major free-standing aquariums in the United States.
| Aquarium | Location | Opened | Cost | Total Sqft. | Tank Capacity | Architects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska SeaLife Center | Seward, AK | 1998 | $56 M | 115,000 | 400,000 | Cambridge Seven Associates Livingston Slone |
| Aquarium of the Bay | San Francisco, CA | 1996 | $38 M | 48,000 | 707,000 | Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis |
| Aquarium of the Pacific | Long Beach, CA | 1998 | $117 M | 156,735 | 900,000 | Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis |
| Audobon Aquarium of Americas | New Orleans, LA | 1990 | $42 M | 110,000 | 1.19 M | The Bienville Group The Mathes Group Eskew Plus, Billes Manning Hewitt Washington Associates Concordia |
| Belle Isle Aquarium | Royal Oak, MI | 1904 | $175,000 | 10,000 | 32,000 | Albert Kahn Associates |
| Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD | La Jolla, CA | 1992 | $14 M | 34,000 | 150,000 | Wheeler Wimer Blackman & Associates |
| Colorado's Ocean Journey | Denver, CO | 1999 | $94 M | 107,000 | 1 M | Odyssea RNL Design Anderson Mason Dale Architects |
| Flint RiverQuarium | Albany, GA | 2004 | $30 M | 30,00 | 175, 000 | Antoine Predock Architect Robbins Bell Kreher Inc. |
| Florida Aquarium | Tampa, FL | 1994 | $84 M | 152,000 | 1 M | Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Esherick, Homsey, Dodge, and Davis |
| Georgia Aquarium | Atlanta, GA | 2005 | $280 M 110M addition | 500,000 / 584,000 | 8 M / 9.3M | Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (PGAV Destinations, 2010 expansion) |
| Great Lakes Aquarium | Duluth, MN | 2000 | $34 M | 62,382 | 170,000 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson |
| Greater Cleveland Aquarium | Cleveland, OH | 2012 | $33 M | 70,000 | 1 M | Marinescape (New Zealand) (John N. Richardson, original 1892 Powerhouse building) |
| John G. Shedd Aquarium | Chicago, IL | 1930 | $ 3.25 M $45 M addition | 225,000 / 395,000 | 1.5 M / 3 M | Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White (Lohan Associates, 1991 addition) |
| Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk | Norwalk, CT | 1988 | $11.5 M | 102,000 | 150,000 | Graham Gund Architects, Inc. |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium | Monterey, CA | 1984 | $55 M $57 M addition | 216,000 / 307,000 | 900,000 / 1.9 M | Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis (original building and 1996 addition) |
| Mystic Aquarium | Mystic, CT | 1973 | $1.74 M $52 M expansion | 76,000 / 137,000 | 1.6 M / 2.3 M | Flynn, Dalton and van Dijk (Cesar Pelli & Associates, 1999 expansion) |
| National Aquarium | Washington, DC | 1931 | n/a | 13,500 | 32,000 | York & Sawyer Architects |
| National Aquarium in Baltimore | Baltimore, MD | 1981 | $21.3 M $35 M 1990 addition, $66 M 2005 addition | 209,000 / 324,000 / 389,400 | 1 M / 1.5 M / 1.578 M | Cambridge Seven Associates (Grieves & Associates, 1990 addition Chermayeff, Sollogub and Poole, 2005 addition) |
| National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium | Dubuque, IA | 2003 | $17 M | 68,000 | 70,000 | Escherick Homsey Dodge and Davis |
| New England Aquarium | Boston, MA | 1969 | $8 M $20.9 M 1998 addition, $19.3 M 2001 expansion | 75,000 / 1 M | 1 M | Cambridge Seven Associates (Schwartz/Silver Architects, 1998 addition E. Verner Johnson and Associates, 2001 expansion) |
| New Jersey State Aquarium | Camden, NJ | 1992 | $52 M | 120,000 | 1 M | The Hillier Group |
| New York Aquarium at Coney Island | Brooklyn, NY | 1957 | n/a | 150,000 | 1.8 M | |
| Newport Aquarium | Newport, KY | 1999 | $40 M $4.5 M expansion | 100,000 / 121,200 | 1 M / 1.01 M | GBBN Architects (original and 2005 expansion) |
| North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher | Kure Beach, NC | 1976 | $1.5 M $17.5 M expansion | 30,000 / 84,000 | 77,000 / 455,000 | Cambridge Seven Associates (BMS Architects, 2002 expansion) |
| North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores | Pine Knoll Shores, NC | 1976 | $4 M $25 M expansion | 29,000 / 93,000 | 25,000 / 433,000 | Hayes, Howell & Associates (BMS Architects, 2006 expansion) |
| North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island | Manteo, NC | 1976 | $1.6 M $16 M expansion | 34,000 / 68,000 | 5,000 / 400,000 | Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle and Wolff Associates of North Carolina Inc. Cambridge Seven Associates (BMS Architects, 2000 expansion) |
| Oklahoma Aquarium | Tulsa, OK | 2003 | $15 M | 71,600 | 500,000 | SPARKS |
| Oregon Coast Aquarium | Newport, OR | 1992 | $25.5 M | 51,000 | 1.4 M | SRG Partnership |
| Ripley's Aquarium | Myrtle Beach, SC | 1997 | $40 M | 87,000 | 1.3 M | Enartec |
| Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies | Gatlinburg, TN | 2000 | $49 M | 115,000 | 1.3 M | Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock/Architects, Inc. |
| Seattle Aquarium | Seattle, WA | 1977 | n/a $20 M expansion | 68,000 / 86,000 | 753,000 / 873,000 | Fred Bassetti & Co. (Miller/Hull Partnership and Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners, 2007 expansion) |
| South Carolina Aquarium | Charleston, SC | 2000 | $69 M | 93,000 | 1 M | Eskew + Architects Clark and Menefee Architects |
| Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Science | San Francisco, CA | 2008 | $438 M* | 410,000* | 500,000 | Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Italy) Stantec Inc. |
| Tennessee Aquarium | Chattanooga, TN | 1992 | $45 M $30 M addition | 130,000 / 190,000 | 450,000 / 1.25 M | Cambridge Seven Associates (Chermayeff, Sollogub & Poole, 2005 addition) |
| Texas State Aquarium | Corpus Christi, TX | 1990 | $31 M $14 M expansion | 43,000 / 73,800 | 325000 / 725,000 | Phelps, Bomberger, and Garza (Corpus Christi Design Associates, 2003 addition) |
| Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center | Virginia Beach, VA | 1986 | $7.5 M $35 M expansion | 41,500 / 120,000 | 100,000 / 800,000 | E. Verner Johnson and Associates (original building and 1996 expansion) |
| Waikiki Aquarium | Honolulu, HI | 1955 | $400,000 | 19,000 | 152,000 | Hart Wood and Edwin A. Weed Ossipoff, Snyder, and Rowland |
| Wonders of Wildlife at the American National Fish and Wildlife Museum | Springfield, MO | 2001 | $34 M | 92,000 | 500,000 | Cambridge Seven Associates |