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The Lesser-Known National Aquarium — or How 5 Alligators Ended Up in the Basement of the Commerce Building

The Lesser-Known National Aquarium — or How 5 Alligators Ended Up in the Basement of the Commerce Building

08/06/2019 in DC by Reagan Graney

Since opening in 1981, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has proved a popular tourist destination, an educational excursion, and a great refuge from the heat in summer months. Many people don’t know, however, that there was a smaller, more modest National Aquarium in D.C. for years before the one in Baltimore popped up.

Those who recall the original National Aquarium will remember it as a dark, tiny exhibit tucked away in the basement of a gigantic government building. But how exactly did this little-known Washington spot end up on the lowest floor of the Department of Commerce—today known as the Herbert C. Hoover building—on 14th St NW?

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