Downtown Aquarium, Houston
Encyclopedia
Downtown Aquarium is a public aquarium
and restaurant
located in Houston, Texas
, United States
that was developed from two Houston landmarks: Fire Station No. 1 and the Central Waterworks Building. The aquarium is located on a 6 acres (2.4 ha) site at 410 Bagby St. in downtown Houston. It houses over 200 species of aquatic animals in 500000 gal of aquaria. The complex includes two restaurants, a bar, and banquet facilities.
The Downtown Aquarium in Houston is owned and operated by Landry's Restaurants, Inc.
and accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA).
The Downtown Aquarium was opened in 2003.
The Louisiana Swamp exhibit is home to animals from the marsh and bayous of the Gulf Coast, including alligator
s, alligator snapping turtles
, spotted gar
, crayfish
, catfish
, and bullfrog
s.
The shipwreck puts visitors inside the sunken hull of a 17th century Spanish galleon where they can look, out to see living coral reefs and sea creatures including a giant Pacific octopus, a moray eel
, clownfish
, tangs, grouper
, snapper
, garibaldi, and star fish.
The Rainforest exhibit explores the tropical rainforests of the world, and life inside their rivers. The exhibit features macaw
s, Red-bellied piranha
, freshwater stingray
s, an emerald tree boa, poison arrow frogs
, archerfish
, arawana
, and birds.
The Sunken Temple showcases species such as lionfish
, tarantula
s, pufferfish
, an electric eel
, and a reticulated python.
The Gulf of Mexico includes nurse shark
s, snapper
, redfish
, tarpon
, jack
and more.
Discovery rig has three touch tanks to let visitors get up close and personal with marine life including stingray
s, bamboo sharks, horseshoe crab
s, butterflyfish
, triggerfish
, and tangs.
The White Tiger of the Maharaja Temple exhibit houses the aquarium's white tigers.
Other facilities on the aquarium property include two restaurants, a bar, and banquet facilities in the main building; and the Diving Bell Ferris Wheel and an aquatic-themed carousel outside. One of the restaurants includes a 110000 gal centerpiece aquarium which is the largest cylindrical tank in the United States.
Public aquarium
A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, housing living aquatic species for viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks. Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular...
and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
located in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that was developed from two Houston landmarks: Fire Station No. 1 and the Central Waterworks Building. The aquarium is located on a 6 acres (2.4 ha) site at 410 Bagby St. in downtown Houston. It houses over 200 species of aquatic animals in 500000 gal of aquaria. The complex includes two restaurants, a bar, and banquet facilities.
The Downtown Aquarium in Houston is owned and operated by Landry's Restaurants, Inc.
Landry's Restaurants
-External links:*...
and accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
(AZA).
History
In 1999, the City of Houston put out a request for proposals for the redevelopment of Fire Station No.1 in the 400 block of Bagby, and the nearby Central Waterworks plant. In mid-2000, Landry's plan was accepted over an alternate proposal by the Post/Cordish partnership. The Central Waterworks plant would be a sharks-only exhibition tank. The main restaurant would be on the second floor of the old firehouse, which would remain intact while construction took place around it.The Downtown Aquarium was opened in 2003.
Aquarium Adventure exhibit
The Aquarium Adventure Exhibit in the main building consists of 5 main themed areas, plus the tiger habitat and interactive displays.The Louisiana Swamp exhibit is home to animals from the marsh and bayous of the Gulf Coast, including alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, alligator snapping turtles
Alligator Snapping Turtle
The alligator snapping turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world. It is not closely related to, but is often associated with the common snapping turtle. They are the sole living member of the genus Macrochelys--while common snappers are in the genus Chelydra...
, spotted gar
Spotted gar
The spotted Gar is a primitive freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae, native to North America from the Lake Erie and southern Lake Michigan drainages south through the Mississippi River basin to Gulf Slope drainages, from lower Apalachicola River in Florida to Nueces River in Texas, USA. It...
, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
, catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, and bullfrog
Bullfrog
The American bullfrog , often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”, native to much of North America. This is a frog of larger, permanent water bodies, swamps, ponds, and lakes, where it is usually found...
s.
The shipwreck puts visitors inside the sunken hull of a 17th century Spanish galleon where they can look, out to see living coral reefs and sea creatures including a giant Pacific octopus, a moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
, clownfish
Clownfish
Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Twenty-eight species are recognized, one in the genus Premnas, while the remaining are in the genus Amphiprion. In the wild they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones...
, tangs, grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
, snapper
Lutjanidae
Snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in freshwater. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper....
, garibaldi, and star fish.
The Rainforest exhibit explores the tropical rainforests of the world, and life inside their rivers. The exhibit features macaw
Macaw
Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...
s, Red-bellied piranha
Red-bellied piranha
-Diet:Their diet consists largely of fish, insects, worms, crustaceans, and the occasional larger animal. In contrast to their reputation, they usually feed on dead, dying, and injured vertebrates in the wild, but have been known to attack healthy animals. The fish usually feed in large schools...
, freshwater stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
s, an emerald tree boa, poison arrow frogs
Poison dart frog
Poison dart frog is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to Central and South America. These species are diurnal and often have brightly-colored bodies...
, archerfish
Archerfish
The archerfish are a family of fish known for their habit of preying on land based insects and other small animals by literally shooting them down with water droplets from their specialized mouths...
, arawana
Arawana
Arawana is a genus of ladybirds....
, and birds.
The Sunken Temple showcases species such as lionfish
Pterois
Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific, known collectively as the lionfish. Pterois is characterized by red, white and black stripes, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky tentacles. Pterois are classified into fifteen different species, but Pterois radiata,...
, tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
s, pufferfish
Pufferfish
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
, an electric eel
Electric eel
The electric eel , is an electric fish, and the only species of the genus Electrophorus. It is capable of generating powerful electric shocks, of up to six hundred volts, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense. It is an apex predator in its South American range...
, and a reticulated python.
The Gulf of Mexico includes nurse shark
Nurse shark
The nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sometimes referred to as the Nur Shark is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma...
s, snapper
Lutjanidae
Snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in freshwater. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper....
, redfish
Redfish
Redfish is a common name for several species of fish. It is most commonly applied to members of the deep-sea genus Sebastes, or the reef dwelling snappers, Lutjanus. It is also applied to the slimeheads or roughies , and the alfonsinos ....
, tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
, jack
Carangidae
Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
and more.
Discovery rig has three touch tanks to let visitors get up close and personal with marine life including stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
s, bamboo sharks, horseshoe crab
Limulidae
Horseshoe crabs are arthropods that live primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. They will occasionally come on shore for mating...
s, butterflyfish
Butterflyfish
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. Found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, there are approximately 120 species in 10 genera...
, triggerfish
Triggerfish
Triggerfishes are about 40 species of often brightly colored fishes of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacific...
, and tangs.
The White Tiger of the Maharaja Temple exhibit houses the aquarium's white tigers.
Other attractions
The C.P. Huntington Train tours the entire property and stops in the center of a 200000 gal shark tank to let visitors watch the sharks. The shark tank viewed from the train is in a separate building from the main aquarium.Other facilities on the aquarium property include two restaurants, a bar, and banquet facilities in the main building; and the Diving Bell Ferris Wheel and an aquatic-themed carousel outside. One of the restaurants includes a 110000 gal centerpiece aquarium which is the largest cylindrical tank in the United States.