Aquarium of the Bay sits at Pier 39 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, offering visitors a walk-through look at the marine life that actually lives beneath the city’s own waterfront. Rather than showcasing exotic species from distant oceans, the aquarium focuses on the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters, from leopard sharks to giant Pacific octopuses.
Opened in 1996 as UnderWater World and renamed Aquarium of the Bay in 2001, the attraction has spent three decades introducing millions of visitors to the ecosystem hidden just offshore. Operated as a nonprofit under the Bay Institute since 2009, it pairs its exhibits with a conservation and education mission centered on protecting the Bay itself.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Pier 39, San Francisco, California
- Opened: April 19, 1996
- Size: 65,000 sq ft, 770,000 US gallons of saltwater
- Species: 200+ species, about 24,000 animals
- Annual Visitors: About 600,000
- Famous For: Two acrylic tunnels totaling 360 feet through Bay habitats
The Bay Experience
Visitors move through two acrylic tunnels totaling 360 feet, walking beneath sharks, rays, and schools of fish drawn from the waters of San Francisco Bay and the nearby Pacific coastline rather than a generic global collection. The aquarium was also the first U.S. institution to successfully breed Pacific angel sharks, a species found locally.
Beyond the tunnels, the aquarium features touch pools, a river otter exhibit, and displays on Bay wetlands, giving the experience a distinctly regional focus that ties directly to the view of the actual Bay visible just outside the building.
History and Ownership
The attraction opened in 1996 at a construction cost of roughly $38 million but struggled with attendance and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999. It was sold in 2000, reopened under new ownership, and rebranded as Aquarium of the Bay in 2001. Since 2009 it has operated as a nonprofit under the Bay Institute, with proceeds supporting Bay conservation and education programs. It marked its 30th anniversary in April 2026.
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Aquarium of the Bay FAQs
What makes Aquarium of the Bay different from other aquariums?
Instead of exhibiting marine life from around the world, it focuses specifically on the San Francisco Bay and nearby Pacific waters, showing visitors the ecosystem that exists right outside its doors at Pier 39.
How much water does Aquarium of the Bay hold?
The facility holds about 770,000 US gallons of saltwater across 65,000 square feet, including two acrylic viewing tunnels totaling 360 feet in length.
Who operates Aquarium of the Bay?
It has been operated as a nonprofit by the Bay Institute since 2009, after opening in 1996 and going through bankruptcy and a change of ownership in its early years.
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Photo: EditorAOTB2020 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.