Rusting Seattle Aquarium Could Be Replaced Council To Consider $87 Million Proposal To Update 20-Year-Old Facility

When the Seattle Aquarium opened nearly 20 years ago on Elliott Bay, it was a bright spot in the then-deteriorated waterfront district and its exhibits were considered state-of-the-art.

Today, it seems terribly inadequate, says Harry Laban, capital planner for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

“When I’m in here with my kids, they run through it in 15 minutes. Then, off to Burger King,” Laban says.

Later this month, the City Council is to consider a proposal to develop a public-private partnership to replace the old 68,000-square-foot aquarium with a modern 200,000-square-foot one.

A new aquarium would provide educational, environmental, entertainment and economic benefits, proponents of a new aquarium contend.

As it is today, the aquarium is rusting away, surpassed by more first-class aquariums in other cities and barely breaking even to pay for annual expenses.

The proposal for a new $87 million aquarium calls for the city to maintain ownership of the property and turn operation of the aquarium over to a private, non-profit corporation.

The City Council Parks Committee is to vote Jan. 22 on whether to go forward with the plan. If approved, it is expected to go to the full council Jan. 27.

Council approval would set in motion the writing of an aquarium plan, and proponents would begin the work of selling the idea to private contributors.

A consultant hired by the Seattle Aquarium Society has recommended the project be paid for through a combination of public and private contributions.

Under such a plan, the government would have to come up with about $15 million for the project. Proponents suggest splitting the figure among various governmental bodies, including the Port of Seattle, King County, the state and the federal government.

“I think the taxpayers are feeling maxed out, personally,” said Steve McGraw, director of the Seattle Aquarium Society.

“So I think if there’s a way to be able to combine public and private resources to benefit the public, we ought to look into that.”

Director Cindy Shiota says the aquarium is falling apart. Every spare bit of space is taken up by fish tanks, makeshift classrooms or aquarium filters.

There is no room for many of the basics of today’s aquariums, such as veterinary facilities and real classrooms for the thousands of schoolchildren who visit every year. And the aquarium hasn’t had a new exhibit in more than 10 years.

In a rocky outer-coast exhibit, the aquarium could not afford equipment that would simulate ocean waves, so staff members rigged a bucket that dumps over when full to make an appearance of waves.

“These people can do anything with duct tape and a Swiss army knife,” Shiota said.

But those skills can only go so far.

Cracks in the concrete that holds the building and the tanks together are in constant need of repair.

Outside, paint is peeling and the roof is sagging. Wooden pilings, which support the main aquarium building, need to be replaced each year.

These problems have not gone unnoticed by the public, said John Blackman, president of the Seattle Aquarium Society.

Blackman said that while aquariums in other cities attract more than 1 million visitors a year, attendance in Seattle has been going down steadily, now averaging about 600,000 a year.

The new aquarium would be named the Pacific Northwest Aquarium and would have a strong focus on Puget Sound, telling the story of salmon migration from start to finish.