Popular Illinois Attraction Plans Half A Billion Dollar Upgrades

Half a billion dollars of upgrades are planned for a popular Illinois attraction.

One Of My Favorite Attractions In Illinois

One of my favorite places to visit in Chicago as a kid was the Shedd Aquarium. I would get so excited when my parents would take me there. It was much smaller back in those days. Now with my own family, it is still one of our favorite places to visit in the city. We try to make it there at least once a year. We enjoy checking out the sea otters and dolphins the best.

Celebrating Its 100th Anniversary

I can not believe in just a few short years the Shedd Aquarium will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The facility was opened on May 30th, 1930. Since then, the popular attraction has expanded two times. The first was in 1991 when the Abbott Oceanarium opened. Then again in 2003 for the Wild Reef. With this momentous occasion, it just seems like the right time for more improvements.

$500 Million Be Invested Into The Shedd Aquarium

When you think about $500 million, that is certainly a lot of zeros on one check. For an attraction as popular as the Shedd Aquarium, it is money well spent. People come from all over the world to visit their building. Competition is tight, so you have to not only keep up with the Joneses, but you also have to be bigger and better too. This project will take eight years to complete.

According to sheddaquarium.org,

 "As we look toward our 100th anniversary in 2030, Shedd Aquarium is embarking on an  audacious, energizing, and urgent undertaking —a transformational Centennial Commitment that accelerates access and connection to nature for all and amplifies ways to care, conserve and act to ensure an equitable, sustainable, and thriving future for people and aquatic life."

 

One of the many projects included a forty-foot glass tunnel. To find out more about their whole plan, HERE.