New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium features a massive, cylindrical glass tank that spirals upward through the center of the building. When it opened in nineteen sixty-nine, this giant ocean tank held more than two hundred thousand gallons of salt water, creating a display unlike any other public exhibit at the time. Architect Peter Chermayeff designed the structure specifically to force visitors to walk a continuous, descending ramp around the aquatic life, mirroring the experience of drifting slowly down into the deep sea.