The Seaside Aquarium is the
oldest privately-owned
aquarium on the west coast.
For seventy-five years, daily
operations have relied
completely on aquarium
admissions and gift shop
sales. We are still open
thanks to visitors like you!
Pre - 1937
The building that houses the Seaside Aquarium was
originally constructed as a natatorium, a salt-water
swimming pool. Arthur Viggers’ Seaside Baths and
Natatorium opened in 1924 to compete with the Oates
Natatorium already in business on the Prom at Broadway.
The main pool had a fountain in the shallow end that
was large enough for multiple people to sit or stand on,
a diving tower, and a viewing gallery. A smaller wading
pool existed in the
front. Water was
drawn directly from
the ocean and boilers
kept water temperatures
between 70 and 80
degrees.
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Come celebrate our dodranscentennial
(75th anniversary)
at the
Seaside Aquarium Anniversary Party
Friday, May 25, 2012
1937 admission prices all day :
15 cents for adults
10 cents for children
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The depression took its toll and the Seaside Baths
Natatorium closed sometime in the early 1930’s, leaving the
building empty for years.
Preparing for a Different Kind of Swimmer
Although its life as a natatorium was short, the building’s
design provided the perfect foundation for an aquarium
-- a structure specifically designed to pull water from
the ocean and filter it.
In 1937, a group of entrepreneurs who had successfully
opened the Depoe Bay Aquarium (a tiny 200 foot
space) rented the main floor of the building to open the
Seaside Aquarium. They constructed the exhibit room
of the aquarium to nest inside the old swimming pool.
A subfloor was built to level out the
bottom of the pool. (continued. on p.2)
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