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Here Fishy, Fishy
The Georgia Aquarium is Poised to Test the Waters
By Suzanne Kayes
The world's largest fish tank is set to show its scales, just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays and a house full of restless relatives. Leave it to an ambitious landlocked city like Atlanta to have the competition gasping for air. The new Georgia Aquarium, opening Wednesday, Nov. 23, dwarfs the closest contender (Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in Japan) several times over in number of gallons, animals and square feet. The numbers are absolutely staggering: more than 100,000 fish and other marine life living in 8 million gallons of fresh and salt water. And then there's always Ralph and Norton, two prized whale sharks, the largest species of fish in the ocean.
A Gigantic Gift
This aquatic underworld, which promises to be truly amazing, has a benefactor to thank for its tank. Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, and his wife Billi wrote a check for $200 million in the name of the charitable Marcus Foundation. Having revolutionized the home improvement industry, Marcus wanted to give back to his community of customers. In 1979, he opened his first stores and headquarters right here and set to work making those orange aprons a familiar trademark, not only around town, but across the country as well.
"This gift to Atlanta and Georgia is in appreciation for the people here who have supported The Home Depot from the day we opened the first stores - as customers, as associates, as shareholders," Marcus said. "I wanted the gift to be appealing to a broad diversity of people who worked with us and shopped with us."
With a contagious sense of humor and a cordial disposition, Marcus is clearly ecstatic about unveiling the world's biggest aquarium to residents and tourists alike. The slim, older man with trim gray hair and distinguished spectacles is eager to share the sea's biodiversity with people of all ages, interests and backgrounds.
He's been anxious and fairly tight-lipped since May 2003 when they broke ground on the building downtown, across from some other big-city sites like the CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia World Congress Center, and Imagine It! Children's Museum of Atlanta. Even the new World of Coca-Cola will set up shop in the summer of 2007 right next door.
Details concerning the interior layout and specific exhibits have been closely guarded, so much so that Points North wasn't allowed a sneak peek due to legal reasons and ongoing construction. This past March, David Pendered, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, even caught wind of confidentiality agreements signed by the few key people given advance tours. Based on blueprints acquired through the Georgia Open Records Law, Pendered related plans for five huge galleries reflecting the various bodies of water around the world. He wrote of million-gallon tanks, glass tunnels stretching underwater, an Indo-Pacific coral reef, a 4-D theater, and a big playroom for both kids and adults.
A Whale of a Tale
The name Marcus may be synonymous with the landmark venue, but with more than 500 different species represented, the aquarium's two most popular attractions are without a doubt the whale sharks. Despite their huge mouths, these fish are placid filter-feeders with beautiful markings of white spots and stripes. Ralph and Norton, two young males already measuring 16 feet in length, took an 18-hour plane ride 8,000 miles from their home off the waters of Taiwan.
"While I am excited about all 100,000 creatures, I've always been a fan of big fish," Marcus said. "They fascinate me. I guess I'm partial to the whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea. When my wife Billi and I saw them in Asia, we knew they had to be here. They told me that it would be impossible to have them travel thousands of miles on an airplane, but we did it! Ralph and Norton are happy living in a 6-million-gallon habitat built especially for them. They are beautiful and gentle, and when you see them gliding through the water through the window, you will find it hard to walk away."
Partnering with the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., the Georgia Aquarium is the first to house these baffling creatures outside of Asia. The whale sharks, which can reach lengths of 45 feet, share a tank with hammerhead sharks and sawfish.
 Is Sushi a Faux Pas?They will also share a space with party guests and business associates. With its two private, seamless viewing windows, the 16,400-square-foot ballroom is perfect for dinner and a show and can accommodate more than 1,500 seated guests for a wedding, convention, banquet or similar special occasion. Wolfgang Puck will provide the food, while Ralph and Norton put on the show. (All in all, Wolfgang Puck Catering can feed parties of more than 8,000, scattered throughout the two-story building - and yes, they serve fish!)
In addition to Puck's signature fine dining in the ballroom, Restaurant Associates and Pano Karatassos of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group are headlining Cafe Aquaria, a fancy food court on the first floor. The Grill will serve fast family favorites like hamburgers and chicken quesadillas, while Buckhead Bread (a spin-off of the popular Buckhead Bread Company) doles out European-style soups, salads and sandwiches. There's also Naples Pizza and Pasta and Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, rounding out the variety of vittles. Basically, visitors can dine on everything from an elegant buffet to an orange-iced sugar cookie in the shape of Deepo - the aquarium's smiling guppy mascot.
Creature Feature
Now that the stomach is satiated, the aquarium has a feast for the eyes. To increase one's overall understanding of the world's aquatic ecosystems, biologists brought in both native and exotic species from "five oceans, 11 seas, eight rivers and the entire Georgia coast."
"Future generations need to appreciate the waters of the world and the role they play in our lives," Marcus said. "They need to understand them and help protect them. If you don't have a personal relationship with something like this, why would you care? We're bringing the waters of the world here, so they understand the issues and so they support conservation and the environment. And we educate them in an entertaining way, so they want to learn as much as they can. This is the legacy I hope we leave with the Georgia Aquarium."
Marcus and the crew are especially excited about the impending arrival of five beluga whales, sure to be a hot gathering spot on opening day. The three females are on a breeding loan from an accredited American Zoo and Aquarium Association facility, and the two males are being transported from a Mexico City amusement park.
This falls right in sync with the aquarium's 4R program: rehabilitation, relocation, rescue and research. Their objective is to save injured and endangered animals from the wild or pitiful captive environments such as fish farms. Marine experts will also support and conduct research on environmental and conservation issues. They'll dive headfirst into topics like ocean exploration, aquaculture and infectious diseases. And with a two-fold purpose of entertaining and educating, the facility will host 70,000 schoolchildren annually, as 25 percent of its total public floor space is dedicated to learning stations and programs.
"From the beginning, I have wanted this to be the best aquarium in the world," Marcus said. "Best in entertainment, best in research, best in education, and best in conservation. I think people from all over the world will now include Atlanta among their vacation destination choices, not only because of the Georgia Aquarium, but for all the exciting things happening in this city."
An Entertainment Anchor
Seeing as an aquarium is no longer exclusive to coastal cities and river towns, Atlanta is ready to reap the benefits of such a monumental claim to fame. "This is the best and the biggest aquarium in the whole world," said Spurgeon Richardson, president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The aquarium," he continued, "is an unbelievable attraction and entertainment asset for the city of Atlanta and the entire state of Georgia." Over the next two to three years, it's really going to make our city more of a hub for tourism, he added. Plus, it's hard to top such a worldwide feat of 8 million gallons. "I doubt it can be rivaled," he said.
What with Atlantic Station opening in October and this month's expansion of the High Museum of Art, Downtown Atlanta is already on the upswing. Even the recent law against panhandling will help to make the streets a little friendlier, said Richard Orr, the senior project manager for Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit corporation that strives to create a robust downtown economy. Expected to draw more than 2.4 million visitors in the first year alone, the Georgia Aquarium will not only generate hundreds of jobs and volunteer opportunities for residents, but also anchor urban revitalization efforts.
"Places like Baltimore have absolutely benefited not just from the aquariums that are located in downtown, but from the resurgence of economic development that resulted from the aquarium being there," Marcus said. (The National Aquarium really helped to revitalize Baltimore's Inner Harbor.) "That is my fervent wish for Atlanta.
We already see it happening with the hospitality, residential and commercial properties that are springing up all around us. I think that's great! Economists have predicted that the Georgia Aquarium will have an economic benefit of more than $1 billion every five years it is in existence."
Thanks to mass transit and ample parking (the aquarium boasts a 1,600-space parking deck), the city is easily accessible, Orr said, making it that much more appealing to families living in the suburbs. The new marine magnet will not only boost business locally, leading to more restaurants and shops, Orr added, but also encourage tourists and conventioneers to spend an extra day or two sightseeing. "We're looking at things like a Downtown Connects Card," he said. "One card will get you into X number of different attractions, events and venues in the downtown area. We expect that to break by the end of the year."
Considering its scope and appeal, which is by no means simply restricted to the Southeast, Marcus said, the aquarium is sure to become a must-see destination. "People are drawn toward aquariums, because where else are you going to get that up close and personal with a whale shark?" Orr said with a chuckle. "I think they are excellent additions to any city," he added, "if they're really funded and done right. And I think Bernie has made sure that this one is going to operate right, because the day it opens, it will be absolutely debt-free."
The Battle Begins
In terms of size, this mammoth project is almost three times as big as the Tennessee Aquarium, clocking in at a whopping 550,000 total square feet compared to Chattanooga's 190,000. It also has eight times as many animals and gallons of water. And that's including this past April's $30-million expansion dubbed Ocean Journey.
Then again, Tennessee's own marine magnet did help to shake the long-standing reputation of Chattanooga being a drab, polluted city. Let's not forget that in 1969, CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite called our friend to the north "America's dirtiest city." When they turned the faucets and filters on in 1992, the downtown waterfront along the Tennessee River became a desirable hotspot for locals and tourists alike. What with the city's recent facelift and new Shark Island exhibit, more and more people are driving the 118 miles from Atlanta for a refreshing small-town getaway.
The question remains whether or not residents will continue to take the trek up
I-75 now that a bigger, better school of fish is right in their own back yard. There is a very real possibility that one of the state's wealthiest tourist attractions might slip in numbers when a reported 250,000 people from Atlanta's metro area decide to stick closer to home. But no one's willing to seal the competitor's fate just yet.
"I'm sure people will continue to go to the Chattanooga aquarium, but there's a definite buzz factor involved," Orr said. "For years, I had heard about the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and for a business trip, I just happened to be in the area, so I went. I had heard about it and heard about it. I think there's a buzz factor that nobody can even match about this aquarium in the country today. It's part of the Atlanta destination experience. Where else are you going to find a city that offers all the national sports, potentially the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the largest aquarium in the world, the birthplace of civil rights and CNN? Where are you going to find all of that in one pocketed area like Downtown Atlanta? I would suggest no other place in this country."
Photos courtesy of the Georgia Aquarium.
For More Information
Georgia Aquarium
225 Baker St.
Atlanta, GA
404-581-4000
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