Local News in Brief : Walk-Through Aquarium
A walk-through aquarium with more than 2,000 fish eventually could become one of Santa Monica’s beachfront attractions.
The city is negotiating with the San Francisco-based Underwater World Co. to build the aquarium on a one-acre plot of land on the north side of Santa Monica Pier. City officials see the project as a way to bolster a campaign to restore and revive the pier, a Santa Monica landmark.
If plans are approved, Underwater World would spend an estimated $12 million to $16 million to build the aquarium, which would be patterned after a 3-year-old attraction in Auckland, New Zealand. It would consist of a 400-foot clear acrylic looped tunnel with moving and stationary walkways that guide visitors through huge tanks full of fish.
The design, Underwater World President Clive Jones said, is aimed at creating for visitors the illusion of walking into the Pacific Ocean. “You are inside and the fish are looking at you,” he said.
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