CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE UPDATE
CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE OFFLINE
CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE SERIES
CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE TV

The renovation framed the exhibits as part of a recreated Caribbean area and a replica of an actual shipwreck, the RMS Rhone.

CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE UPDATE

On July 1, 1995, the New Jersey State Aquarium reopened after a further $4 million renovation to update the surroundings in order to draw in more visitors. These changes and modifications helped to improve the organization's image, boost attendance, and assist the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences' effort to stabilize the attraction for long-term operations.

CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE TV

Even staff members complemented the new experience: the black and purple aquarium uniform, patterned on the then-hit TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation, was worn by anyone who worked in public view. A one-man submersible hung from the center, its lights shining on the Command Center - a glorified information desk made to look like the bridge of an underwater lab. The rotunda was upgraded with the addition of a large, spinning mobile in the domed ceiling, made from more than a thousand polished aluminum fish shapes. The new attraction opened to acclaim by the public and was also the Themed Entertainment Association's 1996 recipient of the 'Award for Outstanding Achievement.' This new, themed exhibit introduced fish, birds, sharks, and sea turtles from all across the Atlantic Ocean, and not just from the coast of New Jersey. The new attraction, designed by award-winning experience designer Bob Rogers and the design team BRC Imagination Arts, made use of the building's massive 760,000-U.S.-gallon (2,900,000-liter) Open Ocean Tank (the third largest on the continent). But in 1994, Ocean Base Atlantic debuted to the public.

CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE OFFLINE

The aquarium never closed during this reconstruction phase, but many exhibits were periodically offline or inaccessible, making the small building even smaller.

CAMDEN ADVENTURE AQUARIUM SHARK BRIDGE SERIES

This was featured on Michael Moore's television series TV Nation in 1995. Alarmed, the aquarium's managers began a short period of intense renovation, just a year after opening day. By the next fiscal year (1993), attendance had plummeted to a mere 400,000. But the biggest problem was the animals themselves: as a New Jersey–based operation, the original aquarium displayed only native fishes, mainly brown and grey in color, and just about nothing else. Graphics were almost non-existent, and the building itself tended to feel small.

None of the exhibits were themed, and many of the tanks seemed to be lined up in neat, square rows.

The cavernous rotunda, capped by the classic white dome, featured a deafening echo and was poorly lit. The building's concrete nature was glaringly apparent both inside and out, as bare, grey concrete walls defined almost every public space. But trouble arose almost immediately when visitor and critics' reviews turned decidedly negative. In its first year of operation, the aquarium hosted 1.6 million visitors. Constructed primarily of cast concrete, accented by large glass and aluminum facades and topped by a large, white fabric dome, the aquarium was completed at a total cost of about $52 million. The original building was designed by the architectural firm The Hillier Group and became a centerpiece for a virtually abandoned area. The Academy oversaw the design and construction of the original attraction jointly with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Originally known as the New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden, the aquarium was operated by the non-profit New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, an organization chartered in 1989 to run the aquarium and further its mission of education and conservation. Inspired by the success that other cities, particularly Baltimore, had experienced with their own marine life centers, the New Jersey legislature approved the bill that included the aquarium's construction order in the late 1980s, and Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean signed it into law. This proposal aimed to counteract the negative image painted of Camden and draw in revenue that would further help the city. The New Jersey State Aquarium was planned to revitalize the Camden waterfront, using the aquarium as a focal point for a shopping center, a hotel, and high-rise residential buildings.

Camden adventure aquarium shark bridge