Aquarium of the Bay, at The Embarcadero and Beach Street on the edge of Pier 39, celebrated its 30th anniversary on April 18 with family activities. The nonprofit says its mission is to protect, restore and inspire conservation of San Francisco Bay and its watershed, "from Sierra to the Sea."
A rocky start
The aquarium was first set to open in 1988, according to Wikipedia. Protests from Fisherman's Wharf merchants and bay environmental groups delayed it, and ground wasn't broken until July 1995. Permit conditions required it to show only species found in San Francisco Bay and to run educational programs.
It opened on April 19, 1996, as UnderWater World. It cost $38 million and featured two acrylic tunnels, 360 feet long overall, running through tanks of filtered bay water. Attendance fell far short of projections, and some visitors nicknamed it "Underwhelming World." It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 1999. A group led by BNP Paribas bought it in June 2000 and renamed it Aquarium of the Bay.
Today
The aquarium says about 600,000 guests a year visit more than 20,000 local marine animals. Wikipedia describes it as a Smithsonian Affiliate, the only Smithsonian-affiliated aquarium in California, with tanks holding more than 770,000 gallons of salt water. It's part of the nonprofit Bay Ecotarium. In 2020 it upgraded aging systems, including adding a new jellyfish rearing system.
Visiting
- Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, according to the aquarium's site
- CityPASS: accepted in person at the main entrance with no reservation needed
- Elevator note: the aquarium has posted that its exterior elevator is out of service. Visitors can use Pier 39's elevator to level 2 and walk through the aquarium gift shop