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View Site & Structure photo gallery | ||||||||||||
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The Site John G. Shedd's initial gift of $2 million helped launch the construction of Chicago's new aquarium in the 1920s. Contributions from other businessmen and civic leaders soon added to the fund, and Chicago's South Park Commissioners (which later became the Chicago Park District) levied a tax to help maintain the building after construction.The site for the Aquarium was a natural choice: on the lakefront near Grant Park. That choice not only gave the Aquarium proximity to water, but also an appropriate neighbor: the Field Museum, which was constructed in 1921. In fact, the land had been "claimed" from Lake Michigan in part with fill and debris from the construction of the museum. Locating the Aquarium on the lakefront was particularly appropriate, since John G. Shedd had long been involved with the Commercial Club of Chicago. That group had commissioned Daniel Burnham to develop a Plan of Chicago in 1909, which eventually became known as the Burnham Plan. The sweeping plan for the young city called for cultural and recreational facilities set in public parkland along the lake, and it remains one of the most visionary urban plans ever developed. Today, the city of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium and other museums continue to improve the site--once lake, then landfill--with new landscaping, bike and running paths, and beaches. The Structure
The architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White was selected to build the Aquarium. Associate Director Walter Chute, former director of the well-known Boston Aquarium, became director of Shedd in 1928, a position he would hold for the next 37 years.In 1925, Walter Chute, accompanied by architects, made trips to the foremost American and European aquariums to study aquarium management and construction. Visits to European aquariums included institutions in Naples, Monaco, Nice, Paris, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam, Antwerp, London and Brighton. Only the best and most modern techniques were incorporated into the plans for the soon-to-be world's largest indoor aquarium. Shedd Aquarium opened to the public in December 1929, with a circular swamp scene in the rotunda as the only stocked exhibit. One by one, the six galleries and a balanced aquarium room were filled with animals and opened. When the final exhibit hall opened in June 1931, the Aquarium not only housed the greatest variety of sea life under one roof, but also became
The Architecture
"Wherever consistent with the classic design, various aquatic motifs were worked into the marble and tile...Fishes, turtles, shells and invertebrates, all modeled from life, are seen on every hand."Guide to the John G. Shedd Aquarium, 1933 Designed by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the Aquarium is a classic example of the Beaux Arts style of architecture that was popular in Chicago in the early 1900s. The modern steel structure was designed with many classical Greek elements to harmonize with the neighboring Field Museum of Natural History. Ernest Graham had been Daniel Burnham's assistant, and 12 years after Burnham's death, he designed the Aquarium in the Beaux-Arts tradition that would carry on Burnham's dream to create a "Paris of the Prairie." John G. Shedd's generosity is reflected in the classical beauty of the Aquarium. The formal front facade bears elements true to a classic Greek temple, such as the Doric columns supporting an entrance portico and a broad staircase leading to the entrance. Greeks placed their temples on such platforms to distinguish them as important public buildings. The layout of the Aquarium follows a traditional Greek cross, although the corners were filled in with necessary workspace, resulting in an octagon. The terrace, also Greek by design, follows the octagon shape, as does the crowning dome. The granite balustrades surrounding the terrace were also borrowed from Greek architecture. Every opportunity was used to incorporate aquatic motifs into the traditional design. Cresting waves run atop the cornices. The dome bears Poseidon's trident resting upon the tails of three dolphins in tribute to the Greek god of the sea. Large terra cotta window screens enliven the outside walls of the Aquarium. Carved within a mosaic of open shark jaws are images of dolphins, sea turtles and octopus. The decorative panel over the bronze doors at the entrance to the building contains an aquatic mural depicting two wolffish curled amidst corals and sea fans with lobsters held fast in their toothy mouths. Director Chute worked closely with local sculptor Eugene Romeo to assure that the sea creatures remained true to life. The architects continued the classical style and aquatic motif inside the Aquarium. The spacious foyer follows the plans of a Roman basilica, complete with clerestory windows. The ceiling features traditional rosettes as well as turtles and scallop shells. Near the entrance, octopus are draped over shell lights suspended from bronze ropes. Turtles, whelks and scallops encrust the beautiful brass doorframes at the entrance. Such a proliferation of bronze work was typical of buildings of the era. Entranceways leading from the spacious foyer to the rotunda and galleries were designed with Greek porticos and ornate Corinthian capitals atop the columns to impress upon the visitor that even more was to be found beyond. The octagonal rotunda originally housed a sunken swamp, flooded with natural light from the roof's ornate skylight. The skylight's glass radiates outward in ever-increasing sizes, matching the radiating marble on the floor. Beautiful terra cotta tiles depicting crabs, lobsters and fishes and covered by an Italian baked glaze decorate the rotunda. Their origin is unknown, although many such tiles decorate buildings from this era, and were probably handmade by newly immigrated European craftsmen. Throughout the Aquarium's interior and exterior, the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White used an aquatic motif to feature the building's purpose, while creating a lasting tribute to Beaux Arts architecture. Building for the Future
Shedd Aquarium's master plan continues the tradition of excellence. The same dedication to creating a state-of-the-art presentation of the aquatic world for the city of Chicago seven decades ago is still at work, inside and out, to make Shedd the World's Aquarium in the 21st century.Using the success of the Oceanarium as a benchmark, the plan recognizes the need to create new educational and recreational experiences to maintain and enhance the Aquarium's stature as a leading cultural institution for both Chicago-area residents and tourists. It places new emphasis on conservation and research programs and celebrates the original building's remarkable architecture through restoration and careful adaptation. The two-phase, 15-year plan calls for state-of-the-art exhibitry that connects guests with the animals and their habitats. Aquatic conservation messages are put in the context of global environmental issues in the 21st century. New exhibits also look at people as a part of, not apart from, the environment. Starting with Shedd's traditional global collection of aquatic animals, the plan reshapes the exhibit approach into focus areas of exceptional -- and often threatened -- aquatic biodiversity. The Oceanarium, with its Pacific Northwest coastline, was the Aquarium's first example of this kind of immersive, concentrated look at a specific region. Phase I of the master plan includes major exhibits highlighting two other remarkable regions -- the Amazon River floodplain and the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific. (Phase I also includes renovation of the Caribbean Reef exhibit and restoration of the rotunda, accomplished in 1999.) Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River
Amazon Rising, opened in 2000, is one of Shedd's most ambitious undertakings -- a total sensory experience that immerses visitors in the Amazon Basin flood cycle. Every element of Amazon Rising reflects the intense biodiversity of the Amazon, a region that covers only 3 percent of the Earth's surface, yet is home to one-third of all living things. Hundreds of species of plants and animals have been brought together in a series of habitats that flow into each other. Guests can encounter incredible animals such as electric eels, piranhas, anacondas, sloths and birds. Other amazing sights include the giant water lily which blooms only at night.Amazon Rising is more than a trip to an exotic locale. It is a journey through time. The exhibit portrays a year in the life of an ecosystem, showing how the rising and receding Amazon River links fishes, birds, insects, plants and people. With Amazon Rising, Shedd has once again found an ideal environment for conveying to guests the central message of connectedness--the fragile interdependencies of life and the local and global ramifications of all our actions. Indo-Pacific
The upcoming Philippine Islands reef exhibit, like the Oceanarium and Amazon Rising, is an immersion experience that will give guests a sense of diving on a reef, with fishes surrounding them. The smallest and the largest animals on display will be new to Aquarium exhibits: fragile live corals propagated on site and about half a dozen kinds of sharks that will cruise in a 385,000-gallon habitat.The coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific constitute the most diverse marine ecosystem on Earth. At the foundation are tiny coral animals, or polyps, whose limestone skeletons pile up into massive reefs that become a neighborhood, complete with shelter and food sources, for thousands of species of fishes and other marine life. People also are a part of the reef ecosystem; coastal communities rely on reefs for food, commercial fishing and other goods and services. The Indo-Pacific exhibit will tell the story of the many connections on the reef -- among corals, fishes, habitats and people. This exhibit breaks new ground literally and figuratively. The 13,500-square-foot exhibit will be housed in an underground addition. The exhibit's roof will extend the Aquarium's south terrace and harmonize with the original architecture on the south side so that it won't be noticeable from the front of the landmark building. The Indo-Pacific exhibit will open in 2003. Shedd Aquarium, along with the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, is part of the Museum Campus of Grant Park. The campus, which opened in 1998, links the three world-class institutions on 57 acres of parkland. Shedd's expansion fits into the Museum Campus exceptionally well. A traffic circle outside the new group entrance on the south side of the building will provide increased ease and safety for schoolchildren and other groups as they enter and exit the building. The expanded accessible entrance will be surrounded by resplendent gardens complete with benches and casual seating. Phase II of the master plan calls for new exhibits highlighting three more ecologically sensitive regions, as well as some of the strongest elements of our animal collection: southern Florida and the Caribbean; Lake Victoria and East-Central Africa. Phase II also includes the biodiversity in our own backyard -- Lake Michigan and the rivers and streams of northeastern Illinois. |
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