Introduction 



When the New England Aquarium openea its doors in 1969, it revealed 

 uncommon innovation and foresight. The Aquarium's award-winning 

 design and spectacular 187,000 gallon center tank attracted thousands 

 of visitors to this previously underutilized and decaying area of the 

 city. It is this same farsighted thinking, together with a responsibility 

 to meet growing public demand and a commitment to remain at the 

 forefront of scientific and exhibition developments, which has instilled 

 in the Aquarium's leaders a new concern for growth. 



Twenty years ago, the Aquarium's founders planned and built a facility 

 designed to accommodate 600,000 visitors a year. With today's 

 audiences exceeding 1,100,000, the Board of Trustees is now seriously 

 considering major expansion plans. An expanded Aquarium would 

 greatly enhance the scale and diversity of the Aquarium's collection, 

 better accommodate its audiences and provide educational services for 

 school children who cannot come now because of capacity constraints. 

 The Board and staff of the Aquarium are exploring the possibility of a 

 mixed-use development on Central Wharf as a means of generating 

 revenues to help fund this expansion. 



This brief report summarizes a site study that has examined the 

 potential for joint development at the New England Aquarium. The goal 

 was to understand how the Aquarium's special and long-term 

 needs- -including site development, program expansion, and financial 

 resources --might be supported by mixed- use development on the site. 

 This study was undertaken by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill under the 

 direction of The New England Aquarium and The Beacon Companies to 

 test whether the concept of joint development has merit. Specific study 

 objectives included the following: 



