Brief History of the New York Aquarium
Like the history of the WCS, the New York Aquarium’s history is also a long and successful one. On December 10th, 1896, it opened its doors for the first time in lower Manhattan in what is now known as Battery Park, making it the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States. On October 31st, 1902, the Aquarium was adopted into the care of what was then the New York Zoological Society. At the time, the Aquarium housed only 150 specimens of wildlife.
In 1941, the Aquarium at Battery Park was closed due to the proposed construction of a bridge from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn. The Aquarium’s inhabitants were temporarily housed at the Bronx Zoo until the new aquarium was built after WWII. On June 6th, 1957, the Aquarium opened its doors at its new location in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Situated on 14 acres by the sea in Coney Island, the New York Aquarium is home to over 350 species of aquatic wildlife and over 8,000 specimens. The Aquarium continues its mission to raise public awareness about issues facing the ocean and its inhabitants with its special exhibits, public events and research. At the Aquarium’s Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences (OLMS), several studies are currently underway investigating such topics as dolphin cognition, satellite tagging of sharks, and coral reefs.
