Key West Aquarium

Last updated
Key West Aquarium
Key West Aquarium.jpg
Aquarium entrance
Date opened1934
Location Key West, Florida, United States
Coordinates 24°33′33″N81°48′26″W / 24.5590437°N 81.8073156°W / 24.5590437; -81.8073156 Coordinates: 24°33′33″N81°48′26″W / 24.5590437°N 81.8073156°W / 24.5590437; -81.8073156
Website www.keywestaquarium.com
Key West Aquarium Key West Aquarium

The Key West Aquarium is the only public aquarium in Key West, Florida, United States. It is located at 1 Whitehead Street and is marked by Historic Marker 52.

Contents

History

Inside the aquarium Aquarium, Key West FL US.jpg
Inside the aquarium

Built between 1932 and 1934, the Key West Aquarium is one of Florida's oldest aquariums. Original admission was 15 cents for adults and 5 cents for children. [1]

The aquarium was conceived by Dr. Robert Van Deusen, the Director of the Fairmount Park Aquarium in Philadelphia. [2] The aquarium was originally an open air aquarium, one of the first and largest at the time.

During the Great Depression, Key West turned over its charter to the federal government due to the economic disaster that hit the island. The federal government believed that Key West's weather and location would make it an ideal tourist destination. The Works Project Administration (WPA) was sent in and built the tourist attraction. [2]

Exhibits

The aquarium is home to exhibits on alligators, atlantic shore fish, jellyfish, sharks, sea turtles, and a touch tank. [3]

Relevance in pop culture

James Merrill wrote about the Key West Aquarium in his poem Key West Aquarium: The Sawfish. [4]

Related Research Articles

Hawthorne, Florida City in Florida, United States

Hawthorne is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawthorne has been known for its agriculture, railroad, and rural lifestyle. Hawthorne's population was 1,478 at the 2020 census, with an area of 7.38 sq mi (19.1 km2).

Cedar Key, Florida City in Florida, United States

Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th century. The Cedar Keys are named for the eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana, once abundant in the area.

Key West City in Florida, United States

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West.

Shedd Aquarium Aquarium in Illinois, United States

Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Opened on May 30, 1930, the 5 million US gal aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about 32,000 animals.

Georgia Aquarium Public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It exhibits hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries, all of which reside in more than 11 million US gallons (42,000 m3) of water. It was the largest aquarium in the world from its opening in 2005 until 2012 when it was surpassed by the S.E.A. Aquarium in Singapore and the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China; the Georgia Aquarium remains the largest aquarium in the United States and the third largest in the world.

PortMiami Port in United States

The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the largest cargo ports in the United States.

The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.

Florida State Capitol State capitol building of the U.S. state of Florida

The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and South Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park State park at Key Largo, Florida, USA

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida. It includes approximately 70 nautical square miles (240 km²) of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. The park is approximately 25 miles in length and extends 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first underwater park in the United States. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1972. The primary attractions of the park are the coral reefs and their associated marine life.

Downtown Atlanta Central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts, it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, state, and federal government facilities; Georgia State University; sporting venues; and most of Atlanta's tourist attractions. It measures approximately four square miles, and had 26,700 residents as of 2010. Similar to other central business districts in the United States, it has recently undergone a transformation that includes the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, and arrival of new residents and businesses.

Florida Aquarium Aquarium in Florida, USA

The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means they are a leader in conservation and education, supporting programs for wildlife and having a strong educational component in the forms of summer camps, school trips, etc. The facility is home to more than 7,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District of Downtown Tampa. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Florida Aquarium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.

Dr. Joseph Y. Porter House United States historic place

The Dr. Joseph Y. Porter House is a historic home in Key West, Florida. It is located at 429 Caroline Street. On June 4, 1973, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Toledo Zoo & Aquarium Zoo in Toledo, Ohio, USA

The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio, is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), through the year 2022. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium houses over 10,000 individual animals that cover 720 species. With a large focus on conservation efforts, the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium currently participates in over 80 species survival programs.

Downtown Tampa Neighborhood in Hillsborough, Florida, United States

Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.

Moses Merrill Mission United States historic place

The Moses Merrill Mission, also known as the Oto Mission, was located about eight miles west of Bellevue, Nebraska. It was built and occupied by Moses and Eliza Wilcox Merrill, the first missionaries resident in Nebraska. The first building was part of facilities built in 1835 when the United States Government removed the Otoe about eight miles southwest of Bellevue. Merrill's goal was to convert the local Otoe tribe to Christianity; he had learned the language and translated the Bible and some hymns into Otoe.

Florida Keys Council of the Arts is a leading cultural organization in the Florida Keys, and serves the population from Key Largo to Key West. A non-profit local arts agency, it makes grants, operates the Monroe County Art in Public Places program, sponsors seminars, and manages the on-line cultural calendar for the region. It also manages the County's Cultural Umbrella grants process, under the Tourism Development Council and serves as a leading advocate for cultural tourism on lower Florida. In 1998, the Florida Keys Council of the Arts was designated by the Board of Monroe County Commissioners as the area's Local Arts Agency as provided by Florida Statute 286.011.

Cox Science Center and Aquarium Science museum

The Cox Science Center and Aquarium is located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Founded in 1959, the goal of the organization is to open every mind to science through the strategic programming of interactive exhibits and engaging community-based camps and events. The Cox Center has expanded since its creation and now houses over 50 hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, a 3000 square foot aquarium, a miniature golf course, and a large exhibit space that displays a temporary travelling exhibit. The Cox Center is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers program, which offers a membership that is redeemable at other ASTC science and technology centers around the world. The Cox Center occupies Dreher Park alongside the Palm Beach Zoo and offers deals for entrance to both facilities.

Herbert C. Hoover Building United States historic place

The Herbert C. Hoover Building is the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the United States Department of Commerce.

The Key West Bight, now known as the Key West Historic Seaport, is the site of a 200-year-old global maritime trade base in Key West, Florida, USA. A bend in the shoreline on the northwest side of the island created a bight, a wide bay and naturally protected harbor. Today, the Historic Seaport is the location of restaurants, bars, boutiques, art galleries, museums, hotels, boats, and watersports excursions.

Fogarty Mansion (Fogarty House)

The Fogarty Mansion is a historic home in Key West, Florida, United States. It is located at 227 Duval Street and is denoted by Key West Historic Marker 18.

References

  1. "key west aquarium Archives - Key West Shipwreck Museum". www.keywestshipwreck.com. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  2. 1 2 "Marker Details - Key West Historic Markers Project". www.keywesthistoricmarkertour.org. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  3. "Key West Aquarium Exhibits". Key West Aquarium. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  4. Materer, Timothy (2008-06-13). "James Merrill's Late Poetry: AIDS and the "Stripping Process"". Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory. 64 (2): 123–145. doi:10.1353/arq.0.0005. ISSN   1558-9595.