Thus it would seem that most people are at heart followers of Isaac Walton, while to others, the study and observation of the finny tribes holds a certain fascination and adventure. Many new ideas were incorporated in the construction and equipment of the building. The exterior is of Georgia marble, in the Grecian Ionic style of architecture, and it is octagonal in shape. Only the ground floor is open to the public, however, the exhibits being so arranged that they all may be seen without climbing any stairs or retracing steps.
The aquarium proper is feet in diameter, covering 74, square feet on the main floor, exclusive of the terrace, which is 30 feet in width. A beautiful piece of rockwork in the center is covered with a profusion of plants, where snakes, frogs and turtles make their home. Radiating from the rotunda are six main exhibition halls, each 30 feet wide and 90 feet long. The interior and exterior decorations, from the great bronze doors at the front entrance to the tiles that garnish the wainscoting, take their artistic motif from forms of aquatic life in endless variety, such as fish, turtles, lobsters and reptiles.
There is a wealth of interesting aquatic and nautical detail in the specially designed appointments, both decorative and utilitarian.
There are specially designed rooms for many purposes. It is decorated in colorful Japanese style to represent an open air courtyard, lighted by eight large lanterns, each on a bamboo post. It is octagonal in shape with a central kiosk in which fancy goldfish are exhibited. The main wall of the room contains 65 smaller aquariums, planted with aquatic plant hfe, and in which tiny tropical fishes flash like jewels. Some of these fish are very tiny, measuring not more than one-half inch when completely grown.
Many of them are beautifully colored, with an irridescent sheen of silver or gold, or combinations of brilliant blues, flashing reds and splendid yellows that defy description. Also from Africa is the electric catfish, capable of giving an electric shock. There is a queer armored catfish, from South America. Another odd specimen is the hatchet fish, so called because of its extremely deep thin body which resembles the head of a hatchet.
For the larger fishes exhibited in the six main galleries there are permanent exhibition tanks, 95 reserve tanks and a number of portable tanks, varying in capacity from gallons to 13, gallons. The total capacity of all the permanent tanks in the building is about , gallons. Water is supplied from four reservoirs in the basement, the total capacity of which is 2,, gallons, half of which is fresh water drawn directly from Lake Michigan.
The other half is salt water, which was brought 1, miles from the ocean at Key West, Florida, in tank car-loads. More than 21, animals live at Shedd Aquarium. Facilities include a 3,square-foot animal hospital. The institution is involved in considerable marine research and conservation activities. He succeeded the retailer's founder as company president in and was named chairman of the board in Shedd intended to give Chicago one thing it lacked among the world's great cities; nothing less than the best would do.
The Shedd Aquarium Society was formed in and soon secured a location on a vacant lot on 12th Street later called Roosevelt Road. Europe's top aquariums were benchmarked. For example, new water filtration systems and ample viewing and working areas were included.
Construction began on November 2, A swamp exhibit was housed inside its foot-tall rotunda. John G. Shedd passed away before the aquarium that bears his name was finished.
The public was allowed in beginning in December —a welcome distraction from the first bitter winter of the Great Depression. There were no fish in the tanks yet. It took another few months to ship one million gallons of seawater by rail from Key West, Florida. Shedd Aquarium was the world's largest aquarium when it officially opened on May 30, It was unique for an inland aquarium in having permanent exhibits of both saltwater and freshwater fish.
In , the aquarium had 4. From the beginning, Shedd claimed the world's largest single collection of sea life. This included a sawfish, the only one on exhibit at the time. In , the facility received two rare lungfish from Australia. One of them, "Granddad," would still be living there at the time of Shedd's 75th anniversary in , making him the oldest known animal in a public display institution.
Other unique species displayed in the early years included the spotted wobbegong shark, Atlantic tarpon, and neon tetra. The tetra, the first of its kind on public display, arrived from Germany via the Hindenburg and was nicknamed "Lindy" after the famous aviator of the day. President Teddy Roosevelt sent the aquarium some triggerfish he caught in the Caribbean in It was in service until Its successor lasted until , when it was given to the Monticello Railway Museum in Champaign, Illinois.
A notable addition to the collection in was Chico, a freshwater dolphin from the Amazon. He lived until , setting a record for his species. The aquarium eventually established a 3,square-foot animal hospital and was an innovator in the treatment and rehabilitation of sea life.
Shedd began producing its own synthetic seawater in This replaced the original swamp exhibit in the rotunda and included about 1, fish in one of the earlier multispecies exhibits. There were about smaller tanks apart from the central, 90,gallon tank. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love.
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